Early Retirement Pay Off Scam
March 24th, 2011
72 cases are being closely investigated in a scam involving individuals who are alleged to have been illegally paid money from a public fund set up to help companies pay for the early retirement of its employees.
Police believe the fund of 647 million euros was created unlawfully, and that the payouts were given to individuals as early retirement packages for companies that they never worked for in the first place.
All the cases originate from Andalucia’s socialist government, where a total of 146 instances were identified where workers were “paid off” from the fund but who were not potentially entitled to it.
The primary suspects in the enquiry are Antonio Fernández, a former employment service official, and José Antonio Viera, the Socialist party secretary in Seville. They signed the agreement for the fund in 2001 using procedures that “absolutely disregarded” the law.
A complete review of all government’s records dating back to 2001 has been requested by the presiding judge, including regional cabinet meetings and those of the labour, economy, innovation and audit offices.
