Luis Rubiales would have used the funds of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to defend himself and judicially attack his sporting and business enemies. According to the conclusions of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard, within the framework of Operation Brody, as president he used officials he trusted to cover up the payment of lawyers and detectives on behalf of this private organization, of public utility. .
According to the instruction directed by the head of Court number 4 of Majadahonda (Madrid), with the impetus of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, Rubiales would have woven a network to favor Federation contracts with companies, which in turn, through trusted people , they would get some bites.
The main investigation is Rubiales himself, who arrived this Wednesday from the Dominican Republic, where he was when the operation broke out before Easter. Investigators maintain that one of the former president’s trusted men is Tomás González Cueto, commissioner of external control of the Federation, as well as a partner in the law firm GC Legal. According to the UCO agents, collected in the summary to which La Vanguardia has had access, Cueto would receive both ordinary fees – for making reports on the RFEF’s expenses – and extraordinary fees through the office.
To begin with, the researchers consider that a conflict of interest could have been committed “as the same person is the one who presents the law firm’s invoice and the one who issues the favorable report thereof, if applicable,” maintains a report from the UCO.
According to this document, “the office would have served as a channel for the subcontracting of legal or other types of services, provided by third parties to the Federation or one of its members, which could correspond to the aforementioned extraordinary billing,” he points out.
Thus, Rubiales’ lawyer in different civil proceedings collected fees through GC Legal, despite the fact that, according to the agents, “the RFEF would no longer be willing to continue paying.”
The investigators are based on a conversation between the two lawyers, on January 31, in which they explain how Rubiales carries out judicial proceedings against his enemies. “Everything that comes out against Rubiales must be such, at least the intimidation of the procedure, that it costs them money,” maintains the former president’s lawyer. Cueto clarifies: “of course, it was when the Federation paid, but if the Federation doesn’t pay, whoever costs the money… (laughs).”
For investigators, this operation bears “similarities” to the one carried out when hiring the Cryptex Europa detective firm, which would have been subcontracted through the company of Cueto’s partner at GC Legal, Ramón Caravaca, Egmont 2008 SL. These detectives were hired to follow the president of the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE), David Aganzo, and his relations with the president of La Liga, Javier Tebas. This office had the task of obtaining a photograph of both of them together.
“Cueto would be subcontracting extraordinary legal services for the RFEF through his law firm with total discretion and to the detriment of the federative entity,” the UCO states in one of its reports included in the case.
The researchers conclude that there has been a “relevant increase in GC Legal’s turnover since Rubiales arrived at the RFEF, due to the great litigation during the time he presided over the federation.”
Rubiales himself acknowledged this to his lawyer in a call on February 5: “Tomás (in reference to Cueto) when he joined the federation he had an office with six lawyers and now he has an office with twenty-something lawyers. He had an office that invoiced 500,000 euros and now invoices 3 million euros.”
