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Ibercorp affair

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Corruption scandal in Spain

The Bank of Spain Building in 2009

The Ibercorp affair (Spanish: caso Ibercorp)[1] was a political corruption case in Spain during the premiership of Felipe González,[2][3] involving insider trading, forgery, secret bank accounts and institutional favoritism, related to the Ibercorp investment bank and affecting the then governor of the Bank of Spain, Mariano Rubio, and close allies (which included former Spanish economy minister between 1982 and 1985, Miguel Boyer, and socialite Isabel Preysler).[4] The scandal would serve as a symbol of the connections between the PSOE government and the so-called "beautiful people": businessmen and nouveau riche who had emerged during the Socialist era.[5][6][7]

The scandal broke out after the unveiling of financial irregularities in several companies in the Ibercorp Group throughout 1991, hinting at market manipulation through pump and dump and with the involvement of the Bank of Spain.[8][9] In February 1992, El Mundo revealed that the Group's chairman, Manuel de la Concha, had lied to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) in a previous investigation into his operations, while Rubio himself was accused of owning stock shares in the Ibercorp bank, prompting the CNMV to re-open its inquiry.[5][10][11] In March 1992, the CNMV initiated several sanctioning proceedings against Ibercorp for inflating the value of its shares.[12] While Rubio denied all accusations of wrongdoing,[13] he was replaced from his post in July that year.[14]

In April 1994, it transpired that Rubio had 130 million Ptas of undeclared money in a secret bank account at Ibercorp,[5][15] and that the Bank of Spain he presided had favored Ibercorp by granting loans with advantageous conditions despite knowing the entity's financial situation.[16][17] These new revelations forced the resignations of Carlos Solchaga as PSOE's parliamentary spokesperson (who had backed Rubio while serving as economy minister in 1992)[18][19] and Vicente Albero as agriculture minister (after he was discovered to own a secret account with undeclared money related to the scandal).[5][20]

References

  1. ^ Argandoña 1998, p. 1.
  2. ^ "Spain's Insiders in Insider Scandal". The New York Times. 23 May 1992. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  3. ^ James, Barry (29 November 1994). "In Spain, It's Been an Exceptional Year of Sorts for Embezzlers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  4. ^ Díez, Anabel; González Ibáñez, Juan (23 March 1992). "Del caso de Juan Guerra a Ibercorp". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d Justicia, Francisco (18 October 2007). "La corrupción del poder económico y sus amigos". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  6. ^ Yoldi, José (6 May 1994). "Rubio, Preysler y Boyer, inculpados por el 'caso Ibercorp'". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  7. ^ "Caso Ibercorp (1994): La alta política, el papel couché y las sociedades fantasma" (in Spanish). teinteresa.es. 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  8. ^ Argandoña 1998, pp. 4–8.
  9. ^ Noceda, Miguel Ángel; Ayuso, Javier (16 February 1992). "El Banco de España prestó más de 2.000 millones a Ibercorp para mantener su liquidez". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  10. ^ Ayuso, Javier; Noceda, Miguel Ángel (13 February 1992). "La Comisión de Valores volverá a investigar a Ibercorp por la venta masiva de acciones". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  11. ^ Argandoña 1998, pp. 8–11.
  12. ^ "Nuevos expedientes a Ibercorp por manipular el valor de las acciones". El País (in Spanish). 13 March 1992. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  13. ^ "Mariano Rubio prepara acciones legales en relación con el 'caso Ibercorp'". El País (in Spanish). 6 March 1992. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  14. ^ "González nombra a Luis Ángel Rojo gobernador del Banco de España en sustitución de Mariano Rubio". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 30 June 1992. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  15. ^ Argandoña 1998, pp. 11–12.
  16. ^ Missé, Andreu (27 April 1994). "Banco de España favoreció a Ibercorp". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  17. ^ Missé, Andreu (27 April 1994). "De la Concha logró 581 millones de Ibercorp sin interés con permiso oficial". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  18. ^ "Solchaga dimite para que el Gobierno tenga un mayor margen de maniobra en la actual situación de crispación política" (in Spanish). Madrid: Servimedia. 5 May 1994. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  19. ^ Arancibia, Salvador (16 June 1994). "Rubio mintió al Parlamento en 1992 y Solchaga fue informado sobre Ibercorp". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  20. ^ Rivera, Jorge (5 May 1994). "Albero se va para "dañar lo menos posible al Gobierno"". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 16 March 2025.

Bibliography

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