Former Minister Sebastian accuses Commissioner Villarejo before the National High Court

Former Minister Sebastian accuses Commissioner Villarejo before the National High Court

The socialist ex-politician claims to be «victim» of the «biggest corporate corruption scandal of democracy» for using «resources» of BBVA

  The former socialist minister Miguel Sebastián joined this Monday to the list of those affected by the possible espionage of different personalities that retired police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo would have carried out, and which supposedly could have been ordered by the former president of BBVA, Francisco González. The economist, already separated from politics, claims to feel "a victim in all senses" of what happened and he argues for the judge of the National Court Manuel García Castellón to accept his appearance as a private accusation.

It is the same as requested in mid-February by three other people allegedly spied on the bank's orders, while the. The first two former senior officials of BBV, José Domingo de Ampuero -ex-adviser and today president of the company Viscofan- and Vicente Benedito, together with the former president of Sacyr, Luis del Rivero.

   The three are mentioned in the recordings allegedly made by Villarejo as a "hostile group", by jointly preparing to gain a "notable presence" in the bank's board of directors by uniting the participation of the construction company -which was to control 5%. - with the share of the founders of BBVA, close to 4.2% and represented by De Ampuero.

«A false story»
According to the complaint of the three before the National Court, Villarejo used a team of "several people" to follow their movements and record their conversations, resulting in a "massive violation of privacy." In the same vein, Sebastián claims to have been the object of "continuous vigilance" and that "a false story was even constructed around his person, with the purpose of discrediting him before others and trying to twist his will".

The petition of the ex-minister in the case where Villarejo is being investigated for several possible espionage operations has been presented by the office of the former socialist minister Francisco Caamacho. In its letter it maintains that the information published the last weeks "would accredit that the telephone communications of our represented one, at that time secretary of State and director of the Economic Office of the President of the Government, as much the private ones as the official ones, would have been intervened".

Sebastian's lawyers, once "all the materials known until now" have been examined-once their request has been accepted by the judge, they will have access to all the documentation that is in the case and that is not classified under secrecy-, they estimate that "we are in the face of particularly serious events that, if proven, could constitute the biggest corporate corruption scandal of democracy. " To go further in their accusations, they warn, "the key will be to know if the information obtained illegally was used by the entity to make its decisions" and, not least, "for what purposes".

Reviews of the bank

The former minister does see that link. "BBVA resources would have been used to defend internal positions of power to the detriment of minority shareholders," he says in his letter of apology, while criticizing that "despite the time that has elapsed since the first news about In this matter, no representative of BBVA has publicly apologized », nor has he addressed the ex-politician« even if only to inform him of the internal measures that they intend to adopt or to transmit their willingness to help and assist in the identification of those responsible and in the defense of the rights of the injured ».

"Nor," he continues, "adopted a single measure of separation or precautionary suspension of those allegedly involved and still perform certain tasks of institutional representation of BBVA," in apparent reference to Francisco González as current honorary president after cede the executive power to Carlos Torres.

Villarejo, according to his defense lawyer, said on January 21 to the judge that these espionage - included in the so-called "Operation Trap" - were not "simply a private professional assignment, since behind it there are strategic interests of the State" although " took advantage of a situation where BBVA needs information ».

According to the commissioner's version, the entity was "an occasional actor that has nothing to do with and that it is even possible that he did not know the economic, international and political significance of that initial operation".