The former president of Banco Popular Ángel Ron has defended that the entity's ratios were comfortable, they allowed a capital increase in 2016 and that the accounts faithfully reflected the true situation of the bank. He has done so in an appeal against the decision of the judge of the National Court José Luis Calama to propose taking him to trial, along with twelve other directors and the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for crimes of defrauding investors and accounting falsehood in the capital increase. of 2016.
Ron rejects the instructor's claim that investors came to the expansion "deceived, since the financial statements for that year and 2015 did not reflect a true image of the balance sheet or assets."
In his writing, the former banker states that “truthful” information was offered to investors. Furthermore, he criticizes that the judge's order was issued after more than six years of investigation, "in the development of which abundant research material has been provided." His lawyer defends that in the course of the case, “an endless number” of statements – testimonial and investigated –, abundant documentary evidence, as well as expert reports provided by both the parties and the supervisory bodies have been obtained.
“However, the fact that the judge has systematically denied the ratifications of the expert opinions provided” by them is striking, according to the defense lawyer. Thus, he insists that the case should be archived due to “the absence of any indication of criminal action” in his management. Likewise, Ron regrets that the magistrate is based “exclusively on retrospective, opportunistic and conniving criteria with the inertia of a procedure, which has ignored the indications and evidence of exculpatory and legality that supported the entire management of the entity.”
Judge Calama has closed the investigation considering that he already has sufficient evidence to take the former president of Popular to trial for approving a capital increase following a report from the Audit Commission carried out without any detailed written study that could be subject to debate. According to the instructor, the bank would have hidden 2.5 billion euros of losses. It will be the Criminal Chamber of the National Court that will have to ultimately decide whether this matter should go to trial.
On the other hand, another judge of the National Court, Santiago Pedraz, has filed another case open to the former president of Popular for another extension, that of 2012. In this case, the magistrate does rely on reports from the Bank of Spain which maintains that endorsed the operation and that the brochure reflected the true image of the entity, in addition to contributing to the good progress of the bank until its resolution in 2017. The judge already tried to file this case but the Court ordered him to carry out more procedures, a step that has not been taken. given by concluding that these “do not serve to avoid or exclude criminal evidence.”
