Network of ¡°moles¡± uncovered in sweeping spying case in Spain

Five Spanish police officers and one Tax Agency employee have been targeted in a sweeping court investigation into an alleged espionage network headed by a retired police chief named Jos¨¦ Manuel Villarejo.

Villarejo, 67, is at the center of a case involving 20 years¡¯ worth of phone taps, undercover recordings and other invasions of privacy against scores of politicians, business people, judges and journalists.

Villarejo earned €300,000 for a job against a law firm, according to the prosecution

He is believed to have run a profitable side business by selling sensitive information to wealthy clients looking for leverage against their adversaries. He allegedly had a network of ¡°moles¡± working for him at banks, telecommunications companies and even the Tax Agency; these employees provided him with phone records, bank accounts and tax returns containing confidential information about his own clients¡¯ targets. Spain¡¯s second-largest bank, BBVA, is alleged to have contracted his services.

Although he has been in pre-trial custody since November 2017, Villarejo is thought to have ordered a trickle of recent leaks to the media, all of which have caused embarrassment to several high-profile individuals, including former Spanish King Juan Carlos I, and Justice Minister Dolores Delgado.

Last week, Villarejo sent an open letter to Prime Minister Pedro S¨¢nchez, of the Socialist Party (PSOE), in which he threatened to disclose, in his own defense, the ¡°real reasons¡± why he is being portrayed as ¡°the country¡¯s public enemy number one.¡±

¡°Operation Kitchen¡±

Judge Manuel Garc¨ªa-Castell¨®n, who sits on Spain¡¯s High Court (Audiencia Nacional), will take statements on Thursday from Villarejo and from two high-ranking policemen who are believed to have worked closely with him.

Commissioners Enrique Garc¨ªa Casta?o and Eugenio Pino will testify about ¡°Operation Kitchen,¡± a 2013 police operation to spy on former Popular Party (PP) treasurer Luis B¨¢rcenas without a court warrant. B¨¢rcenas is himself at the center of a corruption scandal that ultimately cost former PM Mariano Rajoy his job in late May, when a no-confidence vote brought down his government.

On Wednesday, the judge included five police officers and a Tax Agency employee in the larger? investigation. All six are believed to have given Villarejo confidential information about partners in a law firm, to be used against the latter by one of Villarejo¡¯s clients (a rival firm). This particular job earned the police chief €300,000 according to the prosecutors¡¯ report.

In another related case under investigation, Villarejo allegedly secured information about a businessman and a lawyer with a view to blackmailing them. Two other police officers are under scrutiny for their presumed involvement: a deputy inspector specializing in anti-terrorist activities and a local officer from Granada.

English version by Susana Urra.