The Bank of Spain commissioned Deloitte, accused in the so-called Bankia case , to investigate a manager who was a key witness and enemy of the auditor in the case. This was denounced this Thursday by the lawyer of the former head of Accounting Regulation, Jorge Pérez, in his lawsuit for the dismissal of the supervisor, according to his version, for being an "uncomfortable witness" and disagreeing with the supervisor's tolerance in the falsification of accounts of the fourth financial institution in the country.

The defense of the Bank of Spain has admitted the commission to Deloitte, but has stressed that it went to a different firm than the one that deals with Bankia's audit within the Deloitte group. He assures that Deloitte was hired as an external expert in the investigation of Pérez without any irregularity. He has admitted that he had access to three years and more than 2,000 emails from Pérez, but the supervisor's defense has insisted that without breaking any rules in the investigation protocols of the Bank of Spain. He states that Deloitte was chosen to investigate Pérez for being the best technical offer .

The plaintiff's lawyer has assured that he was checked for emails from 10 years ago and that the search keys were included if Pérez had passed information "to the Ministry of Economy" or "to the CNMV". Specifically, he has assured that Deloitte sought emails from Ana Maria Martinez-Pina, current vice president of the CNMV and author in her previous stage at the ICAC of a historic sanction to the auditor for her performance in Bankia.

Pérez has sued the Bank of Spain in the Social Court number 41 of Madrid and maintains, as this newspaper advanced, that his dismissal is inadmissible and is due to reprisals for having been critical of his superiors in the management of the Bankia case . The lawyers of the Bank of Spain have denied such a version and accuse Pérez of "disloyalty" and "breach of professional secrecy" by passing information to people outside the bank during business hours. They deny any repression against Pérez. He testified last May at the National Court, which unsuccessfully warned his superiors in the Bank of Spain of the falsification of accounts with which Bankia intended to go public.

According to the version of Pérez's defense in the Court, Deloitte had to decline the charge of the Bank of Spain to investigate him when he witnessed a case in which the auditor is accused of collaborating with the concealment of losses in Bankia. In his view, the fact that the firm's staff reviewed his emails before he testified last May was valuable for Deloitte's defense interests, sitting on the bench as a legal entity with his financial audit partner, Francisco Celma, for alleged collaboration with Bankia's accounting falsehood. "The Bankia case could be seriously contaminated by the negligent and reckless conduct of the Bank of Spain," says Pérez in the lawsuit.

Deloitte regularly maintains that its forensic investigation services have nothing to do with those of financial auditing or the Celma team and that they are watertight compartments with no relationship between them.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Madrid
  • National audience

Finance An ex-director demands the Bank of Spain to be fired "for being an uncomfortable witness in the Bankia case"

CourtsThe judge will prosecute the former council of Banco de Valencia for accounting falsehood

COP25 Spanish banks commit to align their activity with the objectives of the Paris Agreement