Spain’s opposition People’s Party (PP) has been embroiled in a new corruption scandal involving its former finance minister, Cristóbal Montoro, who is accused of taking kickbacks from energy companies in exchange for favourable government policies. The allegations, which emerged from a police investigation led by Judge Rubén Rus, claim that Montoro and 27 others, including senior treasury officials, received at least €11 million (£9.5 million) from big energy firms between 2008 and 2015.
According to the judge’s report, Montoro established an “economic team” — a lawyer’s office linked to the finance ministry — that acted as a vehicle to access the ministry and influence legislation. The report states that gas companies had tried to lobby for legislative changes without success, but were able to obtain desired reforms, such as lower tax liabilities, only when using Montoro’s team as an intermediary.
Montoro is also accused of personally accessing the confidential tax records of political rivals within his own party, including Esperanza Aguirre, former president of Madrid, as well as journalists and celebrities such as tennis star Rafael Nadal, art collector Carmen Thyssen, and Jordi Pujol Ferrusola, son of former Catalan president Jordi Pujol. It is claimed that former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was warned about Montoro’s activities but took no action.
Montoro resigned from the PP on Thursday and issued a statement saying “there is no proof of any of the accusations.” The scandal is a blow to PP leader Alberto Feijóo, who has focused on attacking Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party over its own corruption investigations. Feijóo said the revelations did not change his view that corruption must be rooted out, adding, “What needs to be investigated must be investigated.”
Political scientist Pablo Simón of Universidad Carlos III in Madrid said the scandal gives Sánchez a “breathing space” but also reinforces the perception that both left and right parties are corrupt, potentially benefiting the far-right Vox party. “It’s analogous to what happened in Portugal after the scandals involving the socialist and then the conservative governments which benefited the far-right party there,” Simón said.
