This is how the Economic Team, the firm founded by Montoro, worked and hid the money.

Madrid / BarcelonaEconomic Team (EE). This is the firm at the center of the Montoro case. The investigation places the firm at the center of a "network of influence" created by Cristóbal Montoro, who allegedly masterminded a modus operandi for distributing profits obtained from alleged illicit operations. The money was allegedly distributed through the firm, which then diverted the funds in two ways: by generously compensating its partners and by invoicing through shell companies, which were in turn owned by some of these partners. When some media outlets began publishing the first reports about the investigation, Equipo Económico attempted to clean up the situation. Thus, the consulting firm was born and grew:

When was the Economic Team created?

Equipo Económico was established on June 5, 2006. Its origins are the law firm Montoro y Asociados Asesores, founded by Cristóbal Montoro with a share capital of €60,000, which was assumed by various partners. At the time, Montoro was a Member of the European Parliament (2004-2008), after having served as Minister of Finance under José María Aznar (PP). The firm was founded with the aim of offering "comprehensive and strategic advice [...] on economic matters."

Who was part of it?

Montoro wasn't alone. He relied on him to found the firm during his time as Aznar's minister; he served as its administrator.

Some of the partners, such as Luis de Guindos, left shortly afterward. As for Cristóbal Montoro, in April 2008, when he returned to politics as a PP deputy in Congress (he would later make the leap to become Minister of Finance in Mariano Rajoy's government between 2011 and 2018), he sold his shares to the remaining partners and left the firm. But one of the suspicions emerging from the investigation is whether Montoro was completely disconnected from the firm.

How did he operate?

The judge's thesis is that the partners of Equipo Económico (almost all of whom were still those with whom Montoro had founded the firm and, therefore, with whom he had worked) managed to influence the Ministry of Finance to change laws in favor of their clients. The suspicion is the firm's involvement in the modification of the electricity tax, so that some companies wouldn't pay as much. It was in 2014 and Montoro was Minister of Finance. "He has direct contact with the Minister of Finance, Cristóbal Montoro..." says an email from one of the beneficiary companies that appears in the case file. In a short time, and after several meetings between the companies, Equipo Económico, and members of the Ministry of Finance, the tax was modified. "It is confirmed that Equipo Económico 2 2014, with five companies integrated into Afgim," according to the Mossos d'Esquadra investigation.

How does it go unnoticed?

Thanks to your modus operandiThe operating margins declared by the Economic Team were not high, which allowed them "not to raise suspicions." On the contrary, the margins of the shell companies "were considerable." Beginning in 2015, there was a decline in the firm's turnover, as well as in the turnover of its affiliated companies. According to the investigation, "there is no economic explanation" because the profitability and financial health of all of them were good.

Investigators link this halt in activity to the appearance of the first reports about the Montoro case in the press. "Following the news, the individuals under investigation reportedly dismantled the structure, transferring the activity to another firm, Global Afteli SL, and establishing other front companies." Global Afteli continued receiving payments from large companies in various sectors, as well as from other "front" companies linked to its partners.