The European Public Prosecutor's Office sent to Spanish justice information gathered in Portugal pointing to the alleged embezzlement of 27.9 million euros between 2022 and 2024, within the framework of the so-called "hydrocarbons case." The scheme allegedly involved Portuguese shell companies through which the money passed to be laundered and later returned to the entrepreneurs involved.
The case has as protagonist Víctor de Aldama, already convicted in the process that sentenced the former Director General of Social Security of Spain, a former minister in Pedro Sánchez's government, to 24 years in prison. Aldama was allegedly at the center of a network of corruption and tax fraud linked to the fuels sector.
The estimated damage in Spain related to this fraud network reaches 231 million euros. The Portuguese entrepreneurs linked to the fuels sector allegedly used shell companies in Portugal to enable the money laundering operation.
