Rato performs his final playing cards within the trial for the origin of his fortune | Economy | EUROtoday

This Monday, Rodrigo Rato lastly accomplished his assertion as a defendant within the trial relating to the alleged illicit origin of his fortune. The former managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who held the place of vice chairman of the Government with José María Aznar (PP), appeared this morning for the third time earlier than the Provincial Court of Madrid to reply questions from the lawyer of he. In this third day devoted to his interrogation, the previous fashionable politician has denied that, throughout his time as president of Caja Madrid and Bankia, he maneuvered to grant promoting contracts to the businesses Publicis and Zenith. “I did not give any indication, nor was I qualified to do so. “I am not an expert in marketing or advertising,” the former banker said about these awards, which the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has put its spotlight on, suspecting that they were rigged to collect illegal commissions.

Rato, who exploded last week against the Prosecutor's Office and the State Attorney's Office, began his speech by thanking the judges for their courtesy in interrupting his statement on Friday, hours before the end of the session – because he was “tired” -, and allowed him to finish this Monday: “I want to thank the court for its understanding and patience for this third session.”

Once this prologue was accomplished, the previous managing director of the IMF has entered into the matter. In response to questions from his lawyer, he has targeted first on justifying the authorized origin of the funds moved by a few of his firms, indicated by the general public ministry. Next, he addressed his period as prime government of Caja Madrid and Bankia.

Anti-corruption not solely accuses the previous politician of hiding a part of the origin of his fortune, but in addition of getting elevated his belongings with the gathering of unlawful commissions for the awarding of promoting contracts to the businesses Publicis and Zenith throughout his time as president of Caja Madrid and Bankia. . The prosecutor maintains that, to execute this alleged plan, Rato used the corporate Albisa, owned by Alberto Portuondo, as a entrance firm, whom he factors out as his entrance man. According to this thesis, the commissions (835,057 euros between 2011 and 2012) have been transferred to Albisa, from the place they have been later despatched to Kradonara, an organization owned by the previous chief of the PP. From there, he allegedly moved the cash to the accounts of two different firms (Bagerpleta Gmbh and Arada): “Thus managing to blur the origin of the money, in the same way as he did with the installments defrauded from the Treasury.”

The former politician's protection denies every thing. “Zenith and Publicis won the contests without any intervention from Rato,” famous his lawyer: “Rato had no relationship with any of the agencies invited to the contests, he did not participate in the preparation of the specifications, he did not evaluate or judge the offers presented, and he did not participate in the Media Committee meeting where the Purchasing management proposals were approved.”

“If I had wanted to influence, I would have done it”

At this level, the previous banker has acknowledged that he knew of those promoting firms as a result of they’re “top-notch,” however he has denied any relationship with them. What's extra, he has indicated that he additionally didn’t know if these corporations had any kind of hyperlink with Albisa, as Anticorrupción claims. In any case, he highlighted that the hiring of each businesses was made at a “complicated” time for Bankia, through which it not solely needed to adjust to the monetary necessities of the Government and the European Central Bank, however was additionally immersed within the creation of a brand new model and in a means of going public.

Rato has added that mentioned choice of the corporations was decided by the Media committee created within the integration course of and, after receiving the approval of every of the upper commissions, it was the board of administrators, chaired by himself, the which endorsed the choice unanimously. Even so, he has specified that he by no means attended the conferences of the aforementioned working group as a result of he needed to “mark distance.”

In this fashion, the previous politician has denied the claims of the then head of the General Directorate of Media, Pilar Trucios, who in her witness assertion indicated that the order to rent Publicis and Zenith got here immediately from the president of the entity. “If I had wanted to influence the contest, I would have done it in November 2010, but why would I go into February 2011 when it was already decided,” she responded to refute this accusation.

Along these strains, the previous president of Bankia has additionally rejected that his closest circle within the monetary establishment – equivalent to his secretary Teresa Arellano, who acquired monumental energy within the financial institution, and José Manuel Fernández Norniella, who was vice chairman of Caja Madrid and deputy to the presidency at Bankia—will resolve the awards. In this regard, he has assured that these insinuations reply to “false statements” by Trucios as a result of “open wounds” that he nonetheless has.

Regarding Arellano, Rato has indicated that he’s an individual he trusts, with whom he has labored for greater than 20 years, even throughout his time in politics, and with whom he has “never” had “any problem.” In this context, he has identified that he delegated to her the conferences that he needed to maintain with the Director of Communication and that her determination was to not Trucios' liking. After the departure of this Bankia supervisor, Rato determined that his secretary would coordinate the work of mentioned division with out on the lookout for a substitute. “At that time he had other priorities. He had to resolve the government's royal decree on provisions, which was very important for us. There was also the issue of preferential ones, I had to resolve relations with the Ministry of Economy, which were very bad. […] And Teresa was handling it very well,” he added.

With this assertion, Rato has concluded his interrogation in his third trial, through which Anti-Corruption requests his sentence to almost 70 years in jail for a dozen crimes in opposition to the Public Treasury, and others of cash laundering, insolvency, corruption and doc falsification. The subsequent to look was Norniella, a trustworthy squire of the previous minister, with whom he has labored because the time of Alianza Popular. Norniella has intervened by videoconference, attributable to his delicate state of well being, and has refused to testify, as his protection has already superior.

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