Batllia Closes 'Valora Case' Probe After 19 Years, Sole Defendant Faces Trial

The Batllia has closed the investigation into the 'Valora case' 19 years after a scandal erupted involving a shortfall exceeding €20 million, leaving the former director of the capital management firm as the sole defendant.

The investigating judge recently issued a ruling concluding the probe and forwarding the full case file to the Tribunal de Corts. That court will now decide whether to proceed to a trial phase. Parties involved may still request additional inquiries there. The judge stated that all necessary steps had been taken to verify the facts, their circumstances, and the responsible parties, with no further useful actions pending.

Some affected parties had sought more probes to explore potentially murky connections, aiming to broaden accountability beyond the ex-director. Those requests were dismissed, though the Tribunal de Corts could revisit them. The ruling holds Valora itself jointly civilly liable alongside its former director, who faces charges of major offenses including aggravated company mismanagement, qualified fraud causing over €6,000 in damage, criminal bankruptcy, and falsification of company accounts, plus ongoing minor offenses of creating and using inauthentic private documents.

The case opened on 2 February 2007, shortly after the scandal broke in early 2007. Valora, then partly owned by Andbank and Fibanc, collapsed following intervention by the financial supervisor, then known as INAF. Days earlier, the director's circle had informally alerted then-Finance Minister Ferran Mirapeix to the firm's dire straits, seeking administrative support, but none materialized.

Initially, three individuals were implicated, with scrutiny extending to Andbank and Fibanc. Responsibilities narrowed over time, focusing on the director, accused of conducting unauthorized, high-risk operations to cover a growing hole and sending clients falsified information to conceal issues.

The probe languished for years after civil proceedings concluded unsatisfactorily, with judicial liquidators distributing remaining funds in a process that satisfied no one. It reactivated in early 2023 with a fresh interrogation of the sole defendant, following earlier rebukes from the Tribunal Constitucional over delays.