Codere under scrutiny amid corruption probe into former Spanish finance minister
It’s alleged that the operator may have made payments to Cristóbal Montoro’s consulting firm in a bid to influence Spanish gambling legislation.
Spain.- The Spanish gambling operator Codere has been linked to allegations of regulatory manipulation and conflicts of interest involving Spain’s finance minister Cristóbal Montoro. The accusations are related to a judicial investigaion in Tarragona into Equipo Económico, a consulting firm founded by Montoro, for alleged use of influence to favour gas companies.
Montoro was finance minister from 2000 to 2004 under José María Aznar and from 2011 to 2018 under Mariano Rajoy. He resigned from the Partido Popular (PP) last Thursday.
Spanish media have reported that a dossier prepared by the Catalan police force Mossos d’Esquadra in November 2022 and included in the case at the Tarragona court points to a series of transactions in which Equipo Económico allegedly received “numerous and large payments” from Codere.
As reported by EFE and RTVE, the development expands the case beyond the gas and renewable energy sectors. It’s suggested that Equipo Económico may have accepted the payments in exchange for promises to lobby on behalf of Codere to influence legislation and tax regulations for the gambling sector in Spain.
Codere, which had former minister Rafael Catalá as secretary and advisor between 2005 and 2011, spent many years calling for Spanish authorities to regulate online gambling for years. The report indicates that the company considered itself at a disadvantage compared to foreign competitors that operated without paying taxes in the country.
Read also: Spanish gambling signups halved after marketing restrictions
In this context, the Mossos d’Esquadra reported that the Ministry of Finance, through the National Fraud Investigation Office (ONIF), had launched inspections of foreign companies in the sector. These were required to pay taxes retroactively as an essential condition for obtaining operating licenses after legislation was drafted. This measure benefited Codere, facilitating its position vis-à-vis operators who were regularizing their tax status.
It’s alleged that Codere continued to carry out lobbying actions alongside or through Equipo Económico. The case against Montaro includes accusations of bribery, fraud, malfeasance, the sale of influence, prohibited negotiations, business corruption and document falsification. According to Spanish media, the judge has been secretly investigating the case since 2018.
