Ex-Spanish Diplomat Accused of Perjury in Pujol Case over Illegal Bank Data Cloning

Celestino Barroso, the former interior attaché at Spain's embassy in Andorra, has been accused of lying under oath before Spain's National Court in the ongoing Pujol case trial. During testimony last week, the Spanish National Police inspector denied any involvement in threats relayed to Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA) executives or knowledge of the illegal initial cloning of the bank's databases shortly after its intervention.

Barroso claimed he neither threatened anyone nor had direct awareness of demands made on BPA or Banco Madrid. He insisted that after meetings with BPA owner Higini Cierco—prior to the bank's nationalisation—and then-CEO Joan Pau Miquel, he had no further involvement. He described his role as routine diplomatic engagement with bankers and denied knowing Félix Rodríguez or Comissari Marcelino Martín Blas.

However, records contradict his account. Barroso testified that a suspicious database cloning operation on 24 March 2015 at the Spanish embassy occurred without judicial oversight initially. Spanish police had contacted BPA executives by email days earlier and coordinated directly with the bank's IT staff, then under administrative control. The process began around 10am, with no legal authorisation until Andorran prosecutor Canòlic Mingorance issued an express judicial order at 3pm, at the request of Andorran and Spanish authorities.

Barroso maintained everything proceeded with proper authorisation and denied his presence. Yet an internal note from the embassy's Guardia Civil security lieutenant the following day details otherwise. It records Barroso receiving two Spanish-registered police officers at his office at 9:35am in a Seat Ibiza parked in diplomatic spaces. Less than 30 minutes later, two BPA or external consultant IT specialists—pre-contacted by email—arrived. Their backgrounds were checked, and a large-capacity hard drive in their briefcase was inspected at security.

The four individuals met in Barroso's office until 19:35 that day, during which the cloning took place. The officers departed then, with no one leaving to obtain judicial approval in the interim. A faxed legal cover arrived five hours after the start.

The note underscores Barroso's direct involvement, potentially amounting to perjury, though no charges are expected. Barroso positioned Comissari Pedro Esteban as the figure directing threats against Catalan independence via BPA pressure, though he denied any coercion himself. Recordings of his messages to Cierco and Miquel suggest warnings of severe repercussions, including US intervention, if demands went unmet.