The Bizkaia court considers him the author of four crimes of discovery and disclosure of secrets committed by a public official and one crime of activities prohibited by a public official.
The Sixth Department of the Provincial Court of Bizkaia sentenced an official of the Provincial Treasury of Bizkaia to ten years and four days in prison for accessing confidential tax data which he was not authorized to use for the purpose of the advice of which he was a co-owner , and where he also provided tax advice.
According to the order released this Monday, the court considers him the author of four crimes of discovery and disclosure of secrets committed by a public official and imposes two years, six months and one day in prison for each of these crimes, as well as a fine of 18 months and one day with a daily allowance of 10 euros and absolute disqualification for 9 years.
It also sentences him as the author of a crime of prohibited activities for a public servant to a fine of six months with a daily allowance of 10 euros and suspension from work or public office for two years.
The Bizkaia court considers it proven that the defendant, an official at the Provincial Council of Vizcaya since 1986, worked at the Ministry of Finance and Finance in the tax information department and that at the same time he carried out tax consultancy work at a consultancy firm of which he “co-owns” something that was “incompatible” with the public function he fulfilled in the Provincial Council.
Furthermore, by leveraging his status as a provincial treasury official, he gained access to tax data that he was prohibited from at least from 2017 to 2019, “as he was not authorized by his job.” consulting customers, as well as other people and companies unrelated to these customers.
“This allowed him to have knowledge of reserved tax data” of those third parties and foreign entities and “to use them for the benefit of his own consultancy firm and his clients, causing damage to the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, owner of the files and custodian.” its content, which was seen as one of the most important tools available to detect irregularities in the management of violated taxes”.
This ruling, dated April 16, is not final and can be appealed to the Supreme Court of the Basque Country.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
