In Spain, Judge Rubén Rus Vela from Tarragona has demanded that 24 banks provide complete information on the movement of funds in the accounts of former Minister of Finance Cristóbal Montoro, his brother Ricardo, five other close associates, and five related companies for the period since 2006. The decision is linked to an investigation into a possible corruption scheme in which, according to investigators, high-ranking officials and business entities may have been involved.
Expanded court request
The court inquiry covers all banking transactions — for both active and closed accounts, including foreign transfers, check circulation, card operations, as well as information on pension plans, safe deposit boxes, and loans. Banks must collect this data centrally, without contacting account holders, to avoid compromising the investigation. They have five days to comply, after which the information will be transferred to the Catalan police for further review.
Reasons and investigation details
The investigation began back in 2018 and is related to suspicions that during Montoro’s tenure in Mariano Rajoy’s government, decisions were made to benefit certain companies, primarily gas companies, for which substantial sums were allegedly paid through the firm Equipo Económico. The case involves 28 suspects facing charges of bribery, fraud, abuse of power, influence peddling, prohibited transactions, business corruption, and document forgery.
Insufficiency of previous data
The judge notes that the information previously provided by the banks was incomplete, and a report from the tax authority points to the need for a more thorough analysis. According to the investigation, unjustified funds may have passed through affiliated companies, and the payment scheme exhibited a complex structure and fragmentation — some funds were deposited into various accounts, while payments to former partners and relatives did not correspond to their shareholdings. According to the court, this may indicate attempts at money laundering.
Reaction of the defendants and case progress
In recent months, the accused have actively challenged the actions of the investigation. Cristóbal Montoro filed a complaint against the extension of the investigation, stating that there was no evidence against him during the seven years of the investigative team’s work. Lawyers for Equipo Económico have also criticized the tax authorities and the court for prolonging the proceedings and scrutinizing all company receipts. In similar cases involving former government members, the courts’ attention to banking transaction details has already become a topic of public debate—for example, as was the case in the surveillance case against the former PP treasurer, which was covered in detail in the report on Mariano Rajoy’s testimony in Madrid.
The tax authorities’ records mention receipts totaling €35.5 million for 2008–2013 alone, with some of these funds, according to investigators, possibly coming from gas companies and other clients. The court continues to insist on a full disclosure of all financial flows in order to determine possible schemes for concealing income and distributing it among participants.
