Bankia SA's former management hid €5.76 billion losses to ensure the lender's 2011 stock market listing and raise capital, according to the conclusions of Spain's anti-corruption prosecutor, Spanish daily El Economista reported.
The prosecutor, Carmen Launa, said on the second day of her final conclusions that former Bankia President Rodrigo Rato and former Vice President José Luis Olivas had purposely hidden the losses, according to the Sept. 3 report.
Bankia's IPO trial, which started in November 2018, is entering its final phase, the report said, with the final hearings expected the next three weeks. Sentencing may take place Sept. 18 if there are no changes to the agenda, the newspaper added.
About 30 of the bank's former directors and advisers are on trial, including Rato, for whom the public prosecutor is asking for five years in prison for alleged fraud connected to the bank's listing.
Rato, a former head of the IMF, has already been given a 4.5-year prison sentence after being convicted in a separate case regarding the use of secret Bankia credit cards, known as "black cards."
Bankia was bailed out for more than €20 billion in state funds in 2012 after it suffered a €19.2 billion loss.
