Analyst Accuses Andorra of Political BPA Liquidation in EU Bid
Gérard Vespierre's report claims Spanish pressure via 'Operació Catalunya' drove the 2015 bank shutdown, despite no money laundering evidence,.
Key Points
- Andorran authorities liquidated BPA in 2015 under alleged Spanish pressure to access Catalan independence leaders' data.
- No money laundering found by Deloitte, KPMG audits, yet 18 executives sentenced in 2025.
- Ties to 'Operació Catalunya' backed by ex-Spanish police testimonies implicating Rajoy.
- Report warns EU against associating with Andorra without banking reforms and BPA amnesty.
Analyst Gérard Vespierre has published a detailed report accusing Andorran authorities of politically motivated actions in the 2015 liquidation of Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA), raising concerns over the principality's rule of law amid its EU association talks.
In the dossier, featured in *Le Monde Décrypté*, Vespierre frames the BPA case as evidence of legal overreach in European microstates. He claims the expropriation of the bank from its owning family was not a routine financial supervision measure but part of "Operació Catalunya," a Spanish government effort to access confidential banking data on Catalan independence leaders, including Jordi Pujol—whose family now faces trial in Spain's National Court.
Vespierre alleges that Spanish authorities, including former President Mariano Rajoy, pressured Andorra by threatening to shut down the bank unless it breached banking secrecy. Andorran regulators, specifically the INAF at the time, reportedly relied on an unverified alert from the US FinCEN to justify the closure. This narrative gained support in 2025 from testimonies by former Spanish police commanders linking Rajoy directly to the demands.
The report highlights stark judicial contradictions. Independent audits by Deloitte and KPMG, alongside Spanish investigations, found no evidence of money laundering at BPA. Yet in July 2025, Andorran courts sentenced 18 former executives to heavy prison terms and fines.
Vespierre's analysis arrives as Andorra nears a decision on EU association. He references a report by anti-corruption expert Martin Kreutner warning of weaknesses in Andorra's anti-money laundering framework, which could undermine EU financial stability. The analyst warns that EU market access might reward poor governance and urges MEPs to demand banking sector reforms, fair resolutions for open cases, and even an amnesty law for BPA staff to restore the country's reputation.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: