Villarejo and Former Iberdrola Security Head to Stand Trial, Company Held Civilly Responsible for Commissioners’ Commissions

The judge of the National Court, Manuel García-Castellón, has ordered Jose Manuel Villarejo and former Iberdrola Security Director Antonio Asenjo to stand trial for numerous illegal orders from the company to the retired commissioner. The judge also considers the company civilly responsible, allowing for potential claims in a sentence against its former employee. Additionally, the judge proposes to try Villarejo’s partner in the Cenyt company, Rafael Redondo, in the same case.

In the investigation, the president of Iberdrola, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, and the company were initially implicated, but the judge lifted those charges. The crimes of bribery, discovery and disclosure of secrets, and falsification of commercial documents were deemed proven by the magistrate. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and other parties involved are urged to present their requests for conviction to proceed to trial.

The investigation revealed that between 2004 and 2011, Antonio Asenjo commissioned several investigations by Jose Manuel Villarejo on behalf of the Iberdrola Group. These investigations aimed to obtain information about individuals and entities that could benefit the company’s interests. Villarejo’s company received over 1.4 million euros from Iberdrola for these projects.

One notable project entailed investigating the then-president of Endesa, Manuel Pizarro, a competitor of Iberdrola. This investigation involved obtaining Pizarro’s call records and information about individuals he contacted during Gas Natural’s takeover bid for Endesa in 2005. To conceal the nature of the payments and services provided, invoices were manipulated to reflect different services, thus masking the involvement of an active commissioner.