New Book on BPA Collapse via Leaked Emails Sparks Debate Over Authors' Ties and Promotion

A new book detailing the collapse of Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA) through internal emails has ignited fresh debate in Andorra la Vella, particularly over the authors' backgrounds and promotional tactics, as it launched amid Sant Jordi's Day celebrations.

Titled *La caída de Banca Privada d'Andorra: los emails delatores*, the 180-page Spanish-language volume—reflecting the correspondence's original tongue—was penned by Andorran journalist Ricard Poy, a communications advisor linked to Demòcrates per Andorra, and Madrid-based IT expert José Luis Pérez. Available at Llibreria La Trenca, it reconstructs BPA's downfall under the Cierco brothers, beginning with unlicensed client-recruitment offices opened in Latin America in 2004.

Drawing on over 100 emails from computers seized during the 2015 intervention, plus PwC's forensic review, the book outlines irregular client onboarding and South American fund transfers, often via undocumented cash deposits at exchange houses. To facilitate inflows, BPA resorted to Panamanian firms and fabricated documents. Between 2010 and 2014, five leading global correspondent banks handling dollar deals severed ties, alerting the US Treasury; the final notice in 2014 preceded the Treasury's March 10, 2015, order to shut BPA over elevated international money-laundering risks.

Authors depict a domino sequence: pre-2009 expansion predated stricter global anti-laundering rules, escalating into riskier practices out of necessity rather than intent. Managers' emails convey mounting panic, with excerpts revealing document shredding delays—"I stuffed the paperwork in my underwear because I didn't have time to reach the shredder"—Panama signatures to dodge arrests, cash "full of white powder," a car trunk "full of cocaine," routine forgery, hard-drive wipes before closing the Argentine office, and fears of jail over paper transports.

Criticism has intensified around the authors. La Veu Lliure reported Poy leveraged two outlets in his editorial network to publicize the book as straight news, without clear promotional labels—described by industry sources as novel self-promotion blurring journalism and commerce. Poy's BPA coverage has long drawn bias accusations, now compounded by Pérez's past ties to José Manuel Villarejo's circle during 2014's Operació Catalunya probes, including informal exchanges on Sandro Rosell and BPA-related figures. Pérez has since focused online on Rosell, Operació Catalunya, and BPA cases, amid media mentions of his emotional health struggles, though without formal diagnoses.

The release has reignited scrutiny of Andorra's compact media landscape, where political communication, journalism, and editorial roles often overlap, fueling ongoing narrative battles over BPA's intervention—a saga blending financial oversight, international probes, and polarized interpretations.