“It has become clear that my life is over, that I am devastated, that I am no longer, nor will I ever be, anyone. […] I know I’m going to end up in jail and go bankrupt.”.
Manuel Fernández de Sousa-Faro thus predicted ten years ago that the excessive ambition directed by Pescanova would put him in jail.
“I noticed –wrote to a confidant, approx. Messages specifically announced by FARO DE VIGO, From the Prensa Ibérica group, and included in the instruction– that he has no chance of surviving the consequences of bankruptcy, that it would be a ruse and that he would surely lead me to jail and destruction.”.
The businessman (Mérida, 1951) was visionary. Perhaps what he did not dare was to have to intimidate such a large ball by himself: out of the twelve prison sentences in the National Court that declared the fishing company bankrupt, only his, the one of the once omnipotent company. The founder’s son will be influential. He was sentenced to six years in prison by the Supreme Court for falsifying annual accounts, falsifying economic-financial information and collecting assets. Her praetorian guard The team of executives who helped the company create a fictitious Pescanova to deceive banks and investors to continue its unbridled growth will not go to jail because they have less than two years in prison and no criminal record. The verdict goes straight to Fernández de Sousa’s heart: against his freedom, his property, and against Pescanova SA, which – as a legal entity – took everything from him and took everything from him.
“The truth is, I never thought I’d be in this situation. At my age, unemployed, without prestige”.
With the decision of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals on February 10 and referred to the parties yesterday, the trial was “finally terminated”. With much more well-intentioned sentences than those given in the first case. Especially with regard to the BDO auditor and managing partner, Santiago Sañé, who was the first auditor to be sentenced to prison in Spain. The Supreme Court does not hesitate to criticize this company, but acquits it of falsifying annual accounts; Sané was also cleared. The resolution, signed by Manuel Marchena (president), Julián Sánchez Melgar, Pablo Llarena, Vicente Magro and Leopoldo Puente (speaker), covers over 395 exhausting pages. Sentenced by the National Court to eight years in prison, Sousa was acquitted of commercial document falsification and aggravated fraud, while the defendant’s sentence was reduced. stiff wing will not take back the 4.65m euros your management team is trying to take to Hong Kong via Portugal under the pretext of taking advantage of Asia’s best financial offers, in agreement with his Spouse (Rosario Andrade Detrell).
tricks
The document recalls the narrative of first-degree events: Sousa, “with the express consent of those whom she trusts”, He carried out a heterogeneous series of erratic practices to hide Pescanova’s bankruptcy.Initially, he started a growth strategy based on “cheap loans” and dedicated nearly 834 million euros between 2007 and 2013 with the goal of becoming the industry’s world leader. He could no longer pay those loans and got creative: he set up a network of instrumental companies to sell fake fish, invent invoices with previous customers, hid debt at subsidiaries, or placed large purchase orders. Simulate a business activity that will give you access to factoring or documentary credits. Always thinking about the “good of society”, as he defended it to the end. “The Defendant presents and assumes these practices as a kind of frivolous behavior imposed on him by market reality.” Some tricks “which also allow the company he heads to project a false image of solvency in its annual accounts and related fact sheets that could deceive potential investors”. Things did not go well: Pescanova SA became the protagonist of the largest non-property tender in Spanish history, with a debt of more than 3,650 million euros. Inside rally Multinational lost assets survival, such as Pesca Chile, Nova Austral, Lafonia (Malvinas), Austral Fisheries (Australia), Nova Honduras, Acuinova Actividades Piscícolas (Portugal), Hasenosa or Belnova (Uruguay).
“I’m on bad terms with my lawyer. […] bad because they are throwing the ships from A Lagoa and moreover it looks like Pescanova has sold the ship from Australia”.
With the financial crisis, the “cheap loans” used by Fernández de Sousa, one of the biggest bosses of Caixa Galicia’s then general manager José Luis Méndez, evaporated. This is where the spinning wheel of “tricks”, the lies, starts to work. “The fact is that Manuel Fernández de Sousa-Faro continued to fraudulently falsify the economic-financial information in the documents that the company had to publish and disseminate. […] deliberately concealing the bank responsibility he is trying to simulate […] all to attract investors and thereby obtaining sufficient financing to continue the development of the company; It is a behavior that will leave no room for the slightest doubt that it is done for the benefit of the people”. This benefit in favor of Pescanova SA is what has just unequivocally condemned the company for falsifying economic-financial information; Together with Sousa, it must cover the more than 125 million losses claimed by mutual funds and private savers that invest in fisheries, making sure the accounts are genuine.
Here comes the role of the BDO, which was largely disapproved in the first place. The Supreme Court’s decision on this issue is harsh against the National Court’s decision, which it described as “confused”, “distracted in the narrative” or “unpretentious”. “At this time, no explanation has been added as to why the defendants were charged. [en referencia a Sañé, el auditor responsable] in fact, he would lend himself to such practices without the slightest evidence that he was receiving some sort of bonus for his own benefit and/or for the benefit of society. Does this justify the conduct of the auditor, who has to verify that the listed Pescanova SA’s accounts are indeed fair? Definitely. The decision itself, written by Lepoldo Puente, states that “with all the evidence, it may justify the execution of civil actions before the auditor and/or Santiago Sañé, which those harmed by his actions may deem appropriate.” Because BDO’s work was carried out “sloppy, with no commitment to its oversight mandates, and without any relevant deficiencies being noticed”. something that can and should be detected in appropriate professional practice”.
The role of the BDO in compensation is important because sentenced to first degree, jointly and severally indemnity, the other was sentenced to organizations such as Luxempart, Grupo Damm or Silicon Metals Holding. Only the auditor had an insurance policy with Mapfre, which guaranteed a payment of 40m euros. With BDO removed from this equation, there is only one company with no activity (Pescanova SA) and a businessman who maintains a dirty list of assets in its inventory: two used cars, a bank account of just over €4,000, worthless shares, and in El Escorial. undeveloped land. The options that those affected by bankruptcy now go through take these civil cases against inspection, without prejudice to Pescanova SA trying to pass this sanction to Nueva Pescanova. In any case, the group will try to apply the same 85% discount that those who fall into the bankruptcy trap suffer.
Bank’s wrist slap: “They didn’t make a deal, they just waited to pay”
Organizations’ behavior frees those convicted of qualified fraud
In his statement at the hearing held in Madrid between December 2019 and July 2020, Manuel Fernández de Sousa attacked banks and mutual funds to set up some kind of conspiracy against him. Seconds for not having helped avoiding competition with an emergency loan to face a syndicated loan; He did it with 9m euros, 6 of which he won back on the day he requested the pre-contest. First, for usury against Pescanova by making high-interest short-term loans. The fact is that there were no financial institutions other than Bankia, which was involved in the procedure. However, the Judge did not listen to these criticisms of the businessman, both in the first-instance court and in this appeal. Of course, the Supreme Court sentence demonstrates that the banks that give the fishing company all kinds of financial instruments, no matter how strange (for example, document loans between subsidiaries that are normally given when necessary) are more than lax. There is no relationship of trust between the parties). “They did not implement any collection management with the borrower, they contented themselves with waiting for Pescanova to pay after the due date,” the decision said. “In documentary loans, financial institutions weren’t even amused, as the impeached penalty itself declared, for collecting relevant documents supporting the existence of this type of business before releasing the funds.” “Financial institutions allowed payments without any assurance that the goods were shipped.” In the Supreme Court decision, Sousa and her team did not act with for-profit organizations and did not intend to stop paying.but to sustain a failed flight in 2013. This is why the former president and his leadership have been acquitted of aggravated fraud charges.
Ten years
Nineteen appeals were lodged against the National Court’s decision, and in all Reduced fines were requested to alleviate unnecessary delay. Not surprisingly, this February 28 will mark the tenth anniversary of the night Pescanova declared bankruptcy to the CNMV—as this newspaper first reported. “The first of these periods – speaking of the Supreme Court’s decision on the investigation phase – of nearly seven years, easily exceeds the parameters normally used by this Chamber to flexibly adjust its final existence without unnecessary delays”.
“I won’t be able to hold out for long. It’ll be six weeks at the most, and then I’ll never be president again, plus thousands of lawsuits will be filed against me from here to there and they’re going to publicly announce that money was lost these years ago”.
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