BBVA and former chairman to face spying trial

Spain's National Court ordered BBVA and its former chairman Francisco Gonzalez to stand trial over alleged corporate spying involving former police commissioner Jose Manuel Villarejo.

The court ruled there was enough evidence for Spain's second-biggest bank and 15 other defendants to go to trial. BBVA will be tried for bribery and unlawful discovery and disclosure of secrets.

Gonzalez, 81, chaired BBVA from 2000 to 2018, when the bank is alleged to have used a private investigation agency linked to Villarejo. He will face alleged offences including bribery, disclosure of secrets, membership of a criminal organisation, mismanagement and falsification of documents.

Several former BBVA executives will stand trial alongside him on the same alleged crimes, the court said.

BBVA has said it previously used services from Cenyt, a business intelligence group linked to Villarejo. Cenyt is suspected of carrying out work including blackmail or threats for companies or wealthy individuals.

Villarejo was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2023 in a separate case after a court found him guilty of secretly recording hundreds of public figures and organising campaigns to discredit them for prominent clients.