Villarejo testifies to the Andorran justice system that Rajoy forced the collapse of BPA because of the Process

BarcelonaFormer Spanish National Police Commissioner José Manuel Villarejo appeared before the Andorran courts on Tuesday to testify in the investigation against former Spanish President Mariano Rajoy regarding Operation Catalonia. In his statement, the former commissioner reaffirmed his version of events and asserted that the former leader of the People's Party orchestrated the operation to intervene in Banca Privada de Andorra (BPA) as retaliation for the financial institution's refusal to cooperate with him in his efforts to bring down the leaders of the Catalan independence movement. Specifically,The Andorran judge wants to clarify whether Rajoy and former Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz They pressured BPA executives to provide information on pro-independence politicians to the patriotic police, within the framework of Operation Catalonia.

According to legal sources who spoke to EFE, the retired police commissioner cited several emails—which he says are part of the cases in which he is being investigated by the National Court—that would prove the involvement of the Moncloa Palace (the Prime Minister's office) and the National Intelligence Center (CNI) in Operation Catalonia. He also admitted that he himself was part of it. patriotic policeHe suggested investigating the Pujol family's assets through Andbank, not BPA. However, according to him, he was not allowed to do so because King Juan Carlos I and his family also held funds at the same bank.

Where did the intervention come from?

BPA was taken over in 2015 following a US government report that implicated it in money laundering and linked it to international organized crime. However, the Andorran government has repeatedly denied that any pressure from the Spanish government influenced the decision at the time. The latest to deny this was the head of the Andorran government, Xavier Espot. In an interview on RTVE in March, Espot argued that there were "strong suspicions of massive money laundering" through BPA that put the Andorran financial system "at clear risk." However, the head of the Andorran government, who at the time was Minister of Justice and the Interior, did not deny that the Spanish police had attempted to pressure bank executives to obtain information.

The ongoing investigation by the Andorran justice system stems from a lawsuit filed in 2020 by the Andorran Institute for Human Rights and the former president of BPA, Higini Cierco, regarding Operation Catalonia. The investigation also includes former Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro, former Secretary of State for the Interior Francisco Martínez, and former Director of the National Police Ignacio Cosidó. This is the only judicial investigation currently underway into Operation Catalonia, as the Spanish courts have thus far refused to investigate it.