Spanish prosecutor seeks more than $200 million fine on BBVA over spying allegations
19/03/2026 09:27
MADRID, March 19 (Reuters) - Spain's anti-corruption prosecutor has called for BBVA BBVA.MC to be fined 181.8 million euros ($208.16 million) for the bank's alleged role in a spying scandal that has rocked the country's business world, according to a document seen by Reuters. The case is part of a wider inquiry into the hiring by several Spanish companies of a private investigation agency run by Jose Manuel Villarejo, a former police commissioner, to carry out various allegedly illegal assignments between 2004 and 2016. The investigations roiled Spain's corporate sector since they were launched in 2019 and caused some reputational damage, but without a clear impact on businesses. BBVA declined to comment on Thursday. The bank previously confirmed that it had hired the agency but said it had found no evidence of spying. In its 2025 annual report, BBVA claims the facts under investigation do not imply criminal liability for the bank. Some of the bank's former executives are part of the investigation, but no current board member is involved in the probe, it said. The prosecutor is requesting a jail sentence of up to 173 years for the bank's former chairman Francisco Gonzalez, though the maximum time he could serve in prison is limited in his case to 15 years, according to the Spanish criminal code, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office said. Gonzalez was chairman of BBVA when the bank hired Villarejo's agency. He later stepped down, as honorary chairman, in March 2019 to prevent any harm to the bank's reputation and has denied wrongdoing. Spain's High Court has still to formally open the trial. When it does, it will mark the first time for former top corporate executives to face trial in such a case. ($1 = 0.8734 euros) (Reporting by Jesús Aguado and Emma Pinedo; Editing by Pooja Desai) ((jesus.aguado@thomsonreuters.com; +34 91 835 68 32; Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging: jesus.aguado.reuters.com@reuters.net))