Spain's Supreme Court orders trial against BBVA in espionage case
Spain's Supreme Court has ordered formal criminal proceedings against bank BBVA and its former chairman Francisco González in connection with an espionage case.
Spain's Supreme Court orders trial against BBVA in espionage case
Spain's Supreme Court has ordered the opening of a criminal trial against bank BBVA and its former chairman Francisco González. The decision is part of a broader investigation into several companies that allegedly contracted the services of a private detective agency run by former police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo between 2004 and 2016.
Spain's Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office is seeking a fine of €181.8 million for the banking entity. Against González, it has requested a prison sentence of up to 173 years. However, due to Spanish legal regulations, the maximum effective sentence is capped at 15 years, according to a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor's office.
González held the position of chairman of the bank when the agency was contracted. He resigned as honorary chairman in March 2019 to protect the institution's reputation. He denies any unlawful conduct. BBVA confirmed it had contracted the agency's services but claimed to have found no evidence of espionage. In its 2025 annual report, the bank stated that the actions under investigation did not generate criminal liability for the entity.
This is the first time senior executives in this complex case have been required to appear before the courts. Executives from Iberdrola, Repsol and CaixaBank were also temporarily investigated, although their proceedings were closed. Last year, Villarejo was acquitted in another case involving the obtaining of information on the former chairman of Sacyr Vallehermoso. Former executives of CaixaBank and Repsol were also acquitted.
The scandal has rocked Spain's business landscape since 2019 and has damaged the reputation of the companies involved, without any noticeable effects on their operational activity having been observed.
Source: MarketScreener Switzerland
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)