The National Court sentenced Norberto Ozal, a former senior official in Vigo’s government, to 19 and a half years in prison for his involvement in a business conspiracy operating in the hydrocarbon sector outside the scope of tax decrees. The court convicts Ozal of money laundering and membership in a criminal organization, in connection with his own activities after leaving Xunta.
Özal was General Manager of Hafesa Energía, and before moving to the private sector, he had responsibilities at Xunta. Specifically, when the current leader of the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Viejo, was leading the Galician government, and the current regional president, Alfonso Rueda, was Minister of the Presidency, Ozal was Director General of the Local Administration between 2009 and 2013.
The company where he held management positions was sentenced by the National Court (AN) to a fine and prison sentences to 14 people for tax fraud in connection with VAT on hydrocarbons worth 154 million euros between 2016 and 2019. In addition to prison sentences resulting from various tax offences, money laundering and membership in a criminal organisation, he (along with others involved in the conspiracy) was ordered to pay fines totaling more than one hundred million euros.
In the ruling, seen by Europa Press, the Criminal Chamber imposed fines on Hafsa Energia for the amount defrauded, as it is a necessary collaborator in crimes against the public treasury. Sentences for those convicted range from six months to several years in prison for crimes against the public treasury, money laundering, or membership in a criminal organization.
Unpaid VAT
The Court considers that it has been established that Hafesa Energía was the Hafesa Group company that acted as a supplier of the product “for all operators created or used by commercial and commercial organizations for the purposes of completing fraud (covering aspects of tax fraud and those relating to the laundering of illicitly obtained cash)”. He adds: “After it was proven that the plan, organization and structure were derived from the aforementioned entity with the aim of operating the sector of purchasing, distributing and selling petroleum products for its own benefit and with the aim of obtaining greater commercial benefits.”
The judges point out that selling products to these companies allowed Hafsa to sell large quantities of fuel, because “the regulatory bodies offered better prices than their competitors, at the expense of the value-added tax, which they did not pay.” In this regard, they stated that “it was proven that the value of the tax fraud that Hafsa and the rest of the defendants verified, using the aforementioned commercial means, amounted to a total value of 154,729,899.59 euros.”
Hafsa announces the appeal
Hafsa Energia issued a statement showing its respect for the ruling, but announced that it would appeal it to the Appeals Chamber of AN, realizing that the result of the test conducted at the trial “contradicts the court’s conclusions” and defends the “correctness of its actions.”
The company will ask to cancel the ruling and clear its name, as it confirms that its relationship with the rest of the actors “was limited to commercial cooperation, without any collusion to change fuel market prices, and no interference or direction by Hafsa to defraud the value-added tax by the actors subject to judicial prosecution.”
It also indicated that this judicial decision “does not affect in any way the continuity of its operations, which remain completely normal,” so it “continues to provide its services and fulfill its obligations to customers, suppliers, and collaborators, while maintaining its commitment to transparency and regulatory compliance.”
Connected to Feijóo and Rueda
Norberto Ozal’s CV highlights his time at Xunta, which he arrived in 2009 at the hands of Alfonso Rueda, the current First Vice President Alberto Núñez Viejo. The position assigned to him was Director General of the Local Administration. Regarding the tasks of this position, the website of the Galician administration explains that they are as follows: The General Directorate of Local Administration is dedicated to cooperation with city councils to advocate for and implement support and to manage programs financed by the European Union.
Ozal’s appointment to Vigo’s first government was controversial at the time, because he came from the far right. In 1994 he was a Falange candidate in the European elections. Regarding their new problems with justice, the Vigo government is remaining silent for the time being.