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Spain’s National Court has ordered BBVA, its former chairman Francisco Gonzalez and another 14 people to stand trial over alleged illegal assignments awarded to former police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo between 2004 and 2016.
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Judge Antonio Pina is sending the bank to trial on one count of bribery and 52 counts of unlawful discovery and disclosure of secrets. He also set a bond of 1.17 million euros to cover possible civil liabilities and given the defendants ten days to submit their defense briefs.
Francisco González will be tried for alleged offenses of bribery, disclosure of secrets, membership of a criminal organizationmismanagement and falsification of documents. Several former BBVA executives and former police commanders linked to Villarejo will also be in the dock alongside him.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office is seeking 173 years in prison for the former chairman of BBVA, while requesting 216 years for Villarejo and 243 years for the bank’s former head of security, Julio Corrochanofor their alleged role in the scheme.
According to prosecutors, the hiring of the company Cenytlinked to Villarejo, what authorized by the bank’s top management and carried out outside internal procedures.
BBVA maintains, however, that the events are under investigation don’t make the bank criminally liable for any offense.