The case centers on Jordi Bagó Mons, who served as President and CEO of Serhs Group, and another senior executive from the same food and hospitality company. In 2016, both individuals were sentenced to a year in prison and fined for fraud related to concealing from Novo Banco that a framework agreement had been signed with other banks. This concealment contributed to a debt situation that left 1.5 million euros unpaid. The two defendants accepted the facts after reaching an agreement with prosecutors, who had initially sought seven years of imprisonment. The Barcelona court delivered a “voice” sentence, but delayed the prison term for two years in exchange for a commitment not to reoffend. The defense team did not accept the decision.
The Prosecutor’s Office maintained that since 2012 Novo Banco had provided financing services to Sehrs Distribución y Logística and Grupo Serhs under a credit policy that grew steadily over time. The bank placed trust in these entities, requesting the necessary information about liquidity, solvency, and ongoing operations to secure financing and ensure renewals.
operation “torticera”
In October 2016, as heads of the Serhs Group, the defendants signed a framework agreement with several banks to restructure financial debt. The agreement included terms such as preferential and early reinstatement of their loans, which the prosecutor says favored certain creditors at the expense of others, including Novo Banco. Despite the framework, the defendants later sought renewed financing from Novo Banco and expanded the policy while attempting to conceal the existence of the framework with other banks. The aim was to obscure the fact that other banks were involved in the debt arrangements.
Novo Banco did not learn about the framework agreement until September 2018, when it discovered that nearly three million euros remained unpaid. It was at this point that the bank encountered a clause stating that debt refinancing would be covered by future divestitures, a maneuver that allowed the loan rights to be transferred to other institutions. Novo Banco then requested repayment of the 1.5 million euro debt, to which the defendants responded by transferring only 10 thousand euros.