WHAT IS ANDORRAGATE?
SPAIN AND ANDORRA colluded to bring down A BANK for their OWN POLITICAL AGENDAS.
Here’s what happened:
In 2012, the Spanish government started a covert project aimed at crushing the Catalan independence movement, known as Operation Catalonia. Leveraging the Spanish National Police Corps, this project aimed to curb the Catalan independence process by seeking damaging information on Catalan independence politicians.
The operation allegedly included false evidence, data manipulation, secret agents, leaks to the press and the use of threats to obtain confidential information of former Catalan President Jordi Pujol, pro-independence politician and his family - all conducted without judicial authorisation.
Involved in the secret operation were the, the Ministry of the Interior (Spain), the Spanish embassy in Andorra, and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, as well as the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy.
2012: SPAIN SOUGHT DAMAGING INFORMATION ON ITS enemies
In 2014, Andorra was under international pressure to strengthen its money laundering protocols. The international financial community were increasingly frustrated over Andorra's failure to implement comprehensive anti-money laundering reforms.
The Andorran government were resisting such reforms; the Andorran political elite owns or operates many of Andorra’s largest banks – notably Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) is the exception.
2014: ANDORRA UNDER PRESSURE
2014: PRESSURE APPLIED TO BPA
Seeking private financial records of a pro Catalan politician and their family, Spanish officials from the Minister of the Interior and the National Police pressured BPA, threatening and blackmailing BPA executives to release confidential banking information.
Spanish newspaper El Pais published recordings from the former Spanish National Police Commissioner, revealing the specifics of these threats. The audios confirmed that Spanish officials instructed BPA’s director to leak compromising data on pro-independence Catalan officials with accounts at BPA, threatening that “they would act against BPA” using the “American administration” (FinCEN) as a proxy if BPA did not comply.
Separately in 2014, Andorran authorities requestedall Andorran banks to provide information regarding reputational risks that could affect the country’s financial institutions and the wider banking industry. BPA promptly submitted its report. Notably, the authorities raised no concerns regarding BPA’s conduct.In addition, regular independent audits of BPA throughout this period found no evidence of money laundering. Between 2007 and 2014, multiple independent investigations into BPA by Deloitte, KPMG, and UIFAND found no evidence of money laundering at BPA.
The Spanish officials carried out their threat of acting against BPA using the American administration. Suddenly, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a ‘warning’ about BPA.
Following this FinCEN warning, Andorran authorities immediately took over, and expropriated BPA without conducting an investigation or following due process. Shamelessly, and demonstrating the political and underhand nature of the attack, Andorra’s Justice Minister—now Prime Minister— and his family, withdrew tens of thousands of euros out of a personal BPA account just hours before the expropriation took place.
Andorran officials arrested BPA’s CEO and held him in prison for two years without charge—an arrest based on false testimony by an individual who the Spanish police forcibly drove across the border into Andorra.
2015: THE RETRIBUTION
In the decade since the banks expropriation, new revelations have revealed Operation Catalonia, brought political motivations to the forefront and show that BPA was an unfortunate casualty in a wider political attack.
Leaked recordings show that Jorge Fernández Díaz, Minister of the Interior directed the plot against Catalan independence figures and that Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy was informed about it. Spain’s Congress of Deputies approved the establishment of a commission to investigate former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and his government’s interference in Andorra's sovereignty during Operation Catalonia.
In the years since the expropriation, Spanish courts exonerated BPA from all money laundering claims brought forth by Spain’s Public Prosecutor. The judge determined that the investigation by Spanish authorities lacked evidence of any criminal activity by BPA related to money laundering.
FinCEN itself rescinded its notice against BPA.
2016 - 2026: UNCOVERING A POLITICAL CONSPIRACY
Despite these revelations, Andorra has doubled down on its attacks on BPA. Despite Spanish courts dismissing and absolving BPA of any money laundering offences, Andorran officials forged ahead with a trial.
In 2025, the court found 18 BPA employees guilty of money laundering for a specific client. However, the client in question has not been convicted of money laundering, raising significant questions about the veracity of the charges.
While Andorran officials tore apart BPA, they ignored all other banks—many of which are run by the Andorran political elite. The Pandora Papers later presented clear evidence of money laundering at many of these banks.
Since the FinCEN withdrawn warning, credible evidence emerged that other Andorran banks, such as Andbank, facilitated international money laundering and tax evasion. Andbank, once run by Andorra’s first Prime Minister, was never investigated—nor was any other Andorran bank.
Andorran officials never opened any investigations against other banks. Instead, the government used BPA as a scapegoat to demonstrate to the international community strong action against alleged money laundering, and in the process, shielded other Andorran banks with close political connections.