Rodrigo Rato points the finger at Mariano Rajoy

The former president of Bankia, Rodrigo Rato, is blaming the Bank of Spain and the government for Bankia’s bancruptcy again. At his second appearance at the trial at the National Court about Bankia shares being put on the stock market, Rato, who ran the organization from 2010 to 2012 and stepped down May 7 2012, said it was Mariano Rajoy (who was president of Spain at the time) who was responsible for him leaving. “The president of the government fired me. He fired me personally. It was a purely political decision” he told the anti-corruption prosecutor when questioned. He also pointed the finger at the Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB in Spanish) and the Minister of the Economy at the time Bankia shares went on the stock market, Elena Sagado of the socialist party, explaining that they were the ones who gave the orders.

Rato responded to the prosecutor’s questions saying that launching shares on the stock market was “reasonable” in relation to the price of the shares. “The law changes the regulatory framework,” he argued, pointing out that there was a “change of panorama that was not in line with the organizations’ own strategy but rather with ongress”. Rato is currently serving a sentence of 4 years and 6 months for the “black cards” case.