Key Individuals
The Andorran government has transformed the country into an opaque tax haven in order to support the operations of a financial services industry that has historic ties to the state. BPA was used by the Andorran government as a scapegoat to protect the banks owned by the wealthy Andorran families with political connections.
The Cierco Family
Brothers Ramon and Higini Cierco were the majority shareholders of BPA prior to the expropriation of the bank by Andorran authorities. In 2000, the Ciercos acquired BPA from Spanish banking group, Caixa Catalunya and for over 15 years they oversaw the expansion of BPA into five countries and its consolidation as one of Andorra’s main financial institutions. In 2011, BPA acquired Banco Madrid and became the first Andorran entity to obtain a banking licence in Spain.
Although Higini and Ramon Cierco are Andorran nationals, they are sons of Spanish immigrants and have always been viewed as “outsiders” in Andorra where a small group of Andorran families control both the financial services sector and state institutions.
The Andorran authorities
Government
Xavier Espot
Former Minister of Justice (2012-2019) and current Prime Minister of Andorra (2019-present)
Xavier Espot Zamora is the leader of Demòcrates per Andorra (DA) party and current Prime Minister of the country. Between 2012 and 2019, Espot served as Minister of Justice under the government of Antoni Martí and oversaw the Ministry of Justice during the expropriation and investigations into BPA.
An Andorra newspaper revealed that Xavier Espot and his father withdrew €10,000 from their accounts in BPA just hours before the Andorran government intervened in BPA and imposed a weekly withdrawal limit of €2,500. A few days prior to the intervention Espot had also transferred over €80,000 out of BPA. FinCEN had warned the government of Andorra about the notice days before it was published on March 6, 2015.
Jordi Cinca
Former Minister of Finance (2011-2019)
Jordi Cinca was a former member of Andorra’s legislature for Demòcrates per Andorra (DA). Cinca served as Minister of Finance between 2011 and 2019 under the government of Antoni Martí and led the Ministry of Finance during the expropriation and takeover of BPA. Before joining the government, Cinca served as Director and member of the Executive Committee of Crèdit Andorrà.
Jordi Cinca featured in the Panama Papers scandal for maintaining an opaque offshore company registered in Panama. Cinca was also investigated for his involvement in an international blood diamond scandal, as he was a shareholder and managing director of metals trader Orfund. Orfund was accused of money laundering, gold and diamond trafficking, and crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone.
Antoni Martí
Former Prime Minister of Andorra (2011-2019)
Antoni Martí Petit was Andorra’s Prime Minister and head of government between 2011 and 2019. Spanish newspaper Economia Digital revealed that Martí had been warned in January 2015 that FinCEN was considering taking action against BPA if Andorra failed to investigate some of the allegations made against the bank. However, Martí and his government chose not to engage with BPA and refused to act, choosing instead to focus on the country’s elections, which were held a week before the notice was published.
The ongoing investigations regarding former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s interference in Andorra indicate that Marti collaborated with Spain’s government in enabling FinCEN to publish the notice against BPA as part of the wider Operation Catalonia.
Maria Ubach i Font
Minister of Foreign Affairs (2017-present)
Maria Ubach i Font is an Andorran politician and member of the DA party. In 2011 she was named Director of Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation and in 2017 she was selected to succeed Gilbert Saboya as Minister of Foreing Affairs during the government of Antoni Martí. Ubach i Font has been a key member of Andorra’s leadership during the expropriation and investigations into BPA.
Enric Anglada
Magistrate, President of the Tribunal de Corts
Enric Anglada is a Spanish judge that serves as the President of the Tribunal de Corts – the three-member panel of judges – presiding over the case against BPA in Andorra. Anglada took over as President of the Tribunal de Corts after Josep María Pijuan was forced to recuse himself due to animosity against the defendants’ lawyers.
Anglada's appointment to lead the trial against BPA is controversial as evidence suggests that he was aware that Spanish authorities were investigating the bank and Andorra’s financial system in spurious and illegitimate ways. In 2013, Anglada presided over a corruption case involving a Catalan mayor and Russian businessman Petrov, in which evidence was presented that suggests that the Spanish police were investigating Petrov without judicial authorisation in order to investigate Andorran banks and the movement of capital in the country.
Anglada recently rejected the defendants’ motion to pause the trial against BPA until the investigations against the Patriotic Police and Rajoy’s interference in Andorra are concluded.
Jordi Gallardo
Minister of Finance of Andorra (2019-present)
Jordi Gallardo Fernàndez is the leader of the Liberals d'Andorra (Liberal) party, DA’s coalition partner, and Minister of Finance of Andorra.
Gallardo was a member of Andorra’s legislature between 2015 and 2019 and succeeded Jordi Cinca (DA) as the head of the Ministry of Finance.
Gilbert Saboya
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs (2011-2017)
Gilbert Saboya Sunyé was Minister of Foreign Affairs during the government of Antoni Martí, until he was replaced by Maria Ubach i Font in 2017.
In 2014 the US sent Saboya a letter urging Andorra to take action against money laundering, which economic advisor of the United States embassy in Madrid Anton K. Smith referenced when he stated that “the United States had been warning Andorra for months that it was concerned about errors in money laundering prevention.”
Demòcrates per Andorra (DA)
DA has been in power since 2011 and has led Andorra during the expropriation and investigations into BPA. In the 2011 and 2015 election DA won majorities in the General Council under the leadership of Antoni Martí. Martí stepped down as leader in 2019 and was replaced by Xavier Espot.
Carles Eneñat Reig is the president of the parliamentary group of DA. The Reig family own two of Andorra’s largest banks, Andbank and Crèdit Andorrà.
Liberals d'Andorra (Liberals)
The Liberals have been in power since 2019 when they joined a coalition government with DA under the leadership of Xavier Espot. Jordi Gallardo is the head of the party and current Minister of Finance.
Andorra Financial Authority (AFA)
The Andorra Financial Authority (AFA) – known as the Institut Nacional Andorrà de Finances (INAF) until 2018 – is the supervisory and regulatory authority of the Andorran financial system.
BPA, like other banks in Andorra, was under the supervision of the INAF and provided the regulator with yearly audits and external expert reports on the procedures used for the prevention of money laundering, conducted by KPMG and Deloitte. Additionally, when the INAF requested Andorran banks to provide information regarding reputational risks that could affect financial institutions and wider industry in Andorra, BPA submitted a report on 24 March 2014, which included the cases that were later reported by FinCEN. BPA did not receive any comments or warning from the INAF about its clients prior to the publication of FinCEN’s notice.
The INAF took over BPA in 2015 and placed it under the administration of the State Agency for Banking Resolutions (AREB).
Between 2012 and 2017, the INAF was led by Maria Cosna. She was previously the director of KPMG in Andorra and was responsible for the annual audits of BPA between 2008 and 2011. During her time the head of Cosan never made any warnings, either verbal or written, about the operations or clients of BPA.
The INAF - now AFA - is currently led by Managing Director David Cerqueda.
Andorran Banking System
The Reig Family
The Reigs have been at the centre of Andorra’s banking sector and politics for almost a century. Òscar Ribas Reig, Andorra’s first prime minister, served as the president of Andbank until his death in 2020 and his son currently serves as Vice-President. The Reigs are active members of the Democrats For Andorra (DA) party, which has been in power since 2011.
Carles Enseñat-Reig is the head of the DA parliamentary group.
Andbank
Andbank is one of the largest banks in Andorra and is owned by the influential Reig family.
In 2021, the Pandora Papers investigation revealed that Andbank was involved in facilitating international money-laundering and tax evasion schemes through its associated accounting agency, AFSI. Additionally, Andbank was involved in the Brazilian “Lava Jato” scandal, which is the largest money-laundering operation in history. Despite the evidence against Andbank, the institution has been spared any scrutiny in Andorra.
Andbank was the main banking entity where the Pujol family hid their wealth in Andorra since the 1990s. The Pujols opened an account with BPA in 2010 which they used to transfer funds from Andbank. The audio recordings of José Manuel Villarejo confirm that the Spanish Patriotic Police, and subsequently the Andorran government, chose not to target Andbank because the former King of Spain also had offshore accounts in the bank.
Crèdit Andorrà
Crèdit Andorrà is one of Andorra’s main banking institutions and is owned (majority shareholders) by the Reigs through the Reig Capital Group. Maria Reig-Moles is the President of the group and a director of the bank until 2018. She was a member of Andorra’s legislature and played a central role in drafting the country’s constitution. Her son, Carles Enseñat-Reig is the president of the parliamentary group of the ruling DA party.
Crèdit Andorrà acquired Vall Banc from JC Flowers & Co in 2021.
Manel Cerqueda Donadeu
Chairman of Andbank (2002-present)
Manel Cerqueda Donadeu is the founder and Chairman of Andbank and one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Andorra. Manel Cerqueda Donadeu previously served as Chairman of Banc Agrícol i Comercial d'Andorra until it merged with Banca Reig to form Andbank in 2002. Since then, he has served as Chairman of Andbank.
Oriol Ribas-Duró (Reig)
Deputy-Chairman of Andbank (2002-present)
Oriol Ribas-Duró is the son of Òscar Ribas-Reig, Andorra’s first Prime Minister and the founder and President of Andbank. Oriol Ribas-Duró was CEO Banca Reig, until the bank merged with Banc Agrícol to form Andbank. Ribas-Duró currently serves as Deputy-Chairman of Andbank and as Vice-President of Reig Patrimonia, the powerful holding company of the Reig family.
The ‘Patriotic Police’
The Patriotic Police (Policia Patriotica) is the group Spanish government officials, police, military personnel, and politicians that were part of “Operation Catalonia” [Operación Cataluña], a covert project aimed at crushing the Catalan independence movement by finding and publishing incriminating information about the former President of Catalonia’s government, Jordi Pujol and other high-profile Catalan politicians.
Those who are currently implicated in “Operation Catalonia” include: the head of internal affairs of the Spanish National Police, Martin Blas, National Police commissioner, José Manuel Villarejo, former Spanish interior minister, Jorge Fernandez Diaz, former interior deputy secretary, Francisco Martinez, former National Police director general, Ignacio Cosido, former finance minister, Cristóbal Montoro, and former prime minister, Mariano Rajoy.
José Manuel Villarejo
José Manuel Villarejo is a former Spanish National Police Commissioner and a key figure in “Operation Catalonia”. Recordings published by Spanish newspaper El Pais in May 2022 and a later interview by Villarejo, confirm that Spain targeted and threatened BPA in an attempt to find incriminating information about former-President of Catalonia’s government, Jordi Pujol.
Marcelino Martin Blas
Marcelino Martin Blas was the head of internal affairs of the Spanish National Police and a member of the Patriotic Police. In 2014, BPA CEO, Joan Pau Miquel Prats, was approached by the Security Attaché at the Spanish Embassy in Andorra, Celestino Barroso, who informed him that Spain was looking at intervening in Banco Madrid and asked him to travel to Madrid to meet with Blas. Miquel Pratsmet, with Blas, then pressured BPA to release the information about the Catalan politicians targeted in Operation Catalonia. Blas stated that if Mique Prats did not collaborate with them and provide critical information, "they would act against BPA" using the "American administration (FinCEN) as a proxy, if necessary”. The bank’s executive, "aware of the danger inherent in the warning", decided to provide information on Pujol to the Spanish police.