Tax evasion and fake expenses scandal at Caja Madrid involves politicians and union bosses
Saturday, October 4, 2014 @ 10:47 PM
A MASSIVE expenses scandal totalling over 15 million euros has been uncovered involving dozens of directors and consultants of the now-defunct bank Caja Madrid which, along with Bancaja, now forms part of the State-owned entity Bankia thanks to a multi-million EU bail-out.
Of the 86 directors of the high-street bank – most of whom are politicians – only three have been cleared of any wrongdoing.
They were all in possession of corporate credit cards to be used for work-related expenses – a common practice in large firms worldwide so that staff do not have to fork out for hotels, transport tickets or petrol out of their own pockets when travelling and wait for a refund from their companies.
Expenses incurred in the course of business can be legitimately offset against income tax, and the IVA part against the firm's or the self-employed worker's own IVA returns.
But the 83 directors and consultants at Caja Madrid found to be involved in the scandal were using them for their own, personal spending – for holidays, shopping, entertainment and leisure – with these amounts paid off out of company funds and offset against taxes.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com