Rodrigo Rato, accused of money laundering, tax crimes and corruption

The Provincial Court of Madrid has confirmed the opening of oral proceedings against the former Vice President of the Government Rodrigo Rato for tax crimes, money laundering and corruption, dismissing the appeal of the Prosecutor’s Office that wanted to include punishable insolvency and falsehood.

On June 2, the Court of Instruction number 31 of Madrid agreed to the opening of Oral trial against Rato in the case investigating the origin of his assets, for alleged crimes against the Public Treasury, money laundering and corruption between individuals.

The Prosecutor’s Office filed an appeal to include falsehood and punishable insolvency, an appeal that the Provincial Court has rejected on understanding that said crimes “They have already been expelled from the procedure.”

In March of this year, the judge Antonio Serrano-Arnal decided to prosecute Rato and 16 other individuals, both natural and legal, for possible crimes of corruption in business, money laundering and alleged tax avoidance.

On March 1, the head of the court decided to prosecute the former vice president of the Government and 16 other individuals and companies, for possible crimes of corruption in business, money laundering and alleged tax avoidance.

In this way, Rato will be judged as the author of eleven crimes against tax authorities Public between the years 2005 and 2015, a crime of money laundering and other corruption between individuals in the concession of Bankia’s advertising campaigns to the Zenith and Publicis agencies in their time at the head of the entity.

Unjustified capital increases

The Prosecutor’s Office claims to have identified unjustified capital increases between 2005 and 2015 for a total amount of 15.6 million euros, in addition to returns from movable capital abroad not declared to the Treasury, and 7.4 million euros defrauded to the Agency Tax.

At this last figure it would be necessary add taxation of professional services through its companies, with which the defrauded quotas would amount to 8.5 million euros.

He also sees “rational indications” that the former minister, being president of Bankia, improperly charged commissions for advertising contracts of the entity with Publicis and Zenith, related to the merger and IPO, which would have been derived to various companies managing to “blur the origin of the money.”

Along with Rato, among others, the lawyer is accused of a tax crime. Sunday Plazas; the one who was administrator of several companies linked to Rato, Miguel Angel Montero, or the former secretary general of Telefónica, Ramiro Sánchez de Lerín.

In the money laundering case there is also the one who was his brother-in-law, Santiago Alarcó, while in the corruption between individuals there is Fernández Norniella, former “right hand” of the former minister; Rato’s secretary, Teresa Arellano; Miguel Ángel Montero; Sunday Plazas; the former director of External Communication of Bankia Miguel Robledo, and one of his employees, Beatriz Colomer.

For their part, the Publicis and Zenith companies are also listed as criminally responsible for the crime of corruption.