The National Court refuses to take on the investigation into the alleged pyramid scheme of the Herrero Brigantina Group

2023-12-28 18:47:52

The judge of the National Court (AN) Santiago Pedraz has refused to take charge of the investigation into the alleged pyramid scheme of the Herrero Brigantina Group (HB Group) considering that at this point it is “extremely risky” to determine “the true scope of the facts.” », which would prevent establishing the jurisdiction of the judicial headquarters.

The magistrate has denied the inhibition in his favor that had been made by the Court of Instruction Number 4 of Salamanca, which until this moment had been in charge of investigating the case. Now, this second body may assume jurisdiction or, otherwise, the Supreme Court could come into play to adjudicate the case.

The head of the Central Court of Instruction Number 5 estimates that the only facts that are indicatively proven refer to the fact that Herrero Brigantina would have offered its clients the ‘TOP 25’ product knowing that the profitability offered was not going to be paid and that, furthermore, It was not backed by AXA, in an alleged strategy concocted by the HB Group to make the contracting reliable.

For Pedraz, this “would be a clear indication of the intention to defraud their investors, leading them, under this deception, to make a transfer of assets in favor of the group, all for an amount of 840,000 euros” pending accreditation. He then explains that this is a volume of fraud that is very far from the jurisprudential requirements to establish that the facts fall under the jurisdiction of the National Court. «And the police report itself indicates that the reported fraud amounts to more than 840,000 euros, but that the damage known to the law firms and associations would exceed 6.3 million euros, a figure that has never been accredited in the investigation. judicial for the moment,” he clarifies

A hundred people affected in Gipuzkoa

The alleged pyramid scam of the Herrera Brigantina Group would affect some 35,000 people throughout Europe, and in Gipuzkoa the number of people affected continues to increase, especially after the publication in this newspaper last week of the first complaints that the Vallverdú law firm will file. Lawyers. The number of people affected has almost doubled, going from the initial 50 to almost a hundred in the territory. It is estimated that the number could reach 200 affected in Gipuzkoa and up to 500 in Euskadi. The group came to have a headquarters in San Sebastián, specifically on Txurruka street.

Pedraz points out that there are only mere testimonial statements from the two workers who denounced their former company about facts that must be contrasted with the practice of proceedings still pending, such as “when it is stated that a significant part of the money contributed by clients was “was intended to cover the Group’s current expenses (payroll, social security, rent, etc.).”

“It is evident that the facts are still to be outlined, and the mere analysis of bank accounts cannot offer the necessary data, but rather this may be based on documentation to be obtained after carrying out the requested procedures,” he concludes.

However, he considers it “revealing” that the police report states that “there are dozens of clients of the Herrero Brigantina Group who, when they wanted to recover their investments, either have not been able to recover them or their recovery has not been complete or has been delayed in time, greatly exceeding the 30-day period stated in the contract signed between both parties.

“This could be because the investments have not been made where they should have been and have been allocated to other projects or to people with a particular interest, so they could not recover it,” he points out.

Last week, the founder of the Herrera Brigantina Group, Juan González Herrero, was arrested by the National Police. The visible head of this business group whose headquarters are located in Ponferrada was arrested by the Economic and Fiscal Crimes Unit of the National Police last Friday in Madrid and was subsequently released with charges and precautionary measures.