Key Individuals

The Andorran government has reshaped the country into a murky tax haven, aimed at bolstering a financial services industry with deep-rooted connections to the state. In this context, Banco Privado de Andorra (BPA) became a convenient scapegoat, shielding banks owned by influential Andorran families with political ties.

The Cierco Family

Brothers Ramon and Higini Cierco were the principal shareholders of BPA before the bank’s expropriation by Andorran authorities. In 2000, the Ciercos purchased BPA from the Spanish banking group Caixa Catalunya. Over the next 15 years, they successfully expanded BPA into five countries, establishing it as one of Andorra’s leading financial institutions. Notably, in 2011, BPA acquired Banco Madrid, marking it as the first Andorran entity to secure a banking license in Spain.

Despite being Andorran nationals, Higini and Ramon Cierco are the sons of Spanish immigrants and have often been perceived as “outsiders” in a country where a select group of families dominates both the financial services sector and government institutions.

The Andorran authorities

Government

Xavier Espot

Former Minister of Justice (2012-2019) and Current Prime Minister of Andorra (2019-Present) Xavier Espot Zamora leads the Demòcrates per Andorra (DA) party and serves as the Prime Minister of Andorra. He held the position of Minister of Justice from 2012 to 2019 under the government of Antoni Martí, overseeing the Ministry during the expropriation and investigations into Banco Privado de Andorra (BPA). An investigation by a local Andorran newspaper revealed that both Xavier Espot and his father withdrew €10,000 from their BPA accounts mere hours before the government intervened in the bank and imposed a weekly withdrawal limit of €2,500. Additionally, just days prior to the intervention, Espot transferred over €80,000 out of BPA. It is important to note that FinCEN had warned the Andorran government about a forthcoming notice just days before its publication on March 6, 2015.

Jordi Cinca

Former Minister of Finance (2011-2019)

Jordi Cinca served as a member of Andorra’s legislature for the Demòcrates per Andorra (DA) party and held the role of Minister of Finance from 2011 to 2019 under Antoni Martí’s government. During his tenure, he was at the helm of the Ministry of Finance during the expropriation and takeover of BPA. Before entering politics, Cinca was the Director and a member of the Executive Committee at Crèdit Andorrà.

Cinca was implicated in the Panama Papers scandal due to his ownership of an opaque offshore company registered in Panama. He also faced scrutiny for his involvement in an international blood diamond scandal, serving as a shareholder and managing director of Orfund, a metals trading company accused of money laundering, trafficking in gold and diamonds, and crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone.

Antoni Martí

Former Prime Minister of Andorra (2011-2019)

Antoni Martí Petit served as Andorra’s Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019. Reports from Spanish newspaper Economia Digital indicated that Martí received a warning in January 2015 that FinCEN was contemplating action against BPA if Andorra did not investigate the allegations against the bank. However, Martí and his administration opted not to engage with BPA, prioritizing the upcoming elections that were held a week before the notice was published.

Ongoing investigations into former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s interference in Andorra suggest that Martí collaborated with the Spanish government to facilitate FinCEN’s publication of the notice against BPA as part of the broader Operation Catalonia.

Maria Ubach i Font

Minister of Foreign Affairs (2017-Present)

Maria Ubach i Font is an Andorran politician affiliated with the DA party. She was appointed Director of Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation in 2011, and in 2017, she succeeded Gilbert Saboya as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Antoni Martí’s administration. Ubach i Font has played a vital role in Andorra’s leadership throughout the expropriation and investigations involving BPA.

Enric Anglada

Magistrate, President of the Tribunal de Corts

Enric Anglada, a Spanish judge, serves as the President of the Tribunal de Corts, the three-member panel overseeing the case against BPA in Andorra. He took over the presidency after Josep María Pijuan was compelled to recuse himself due to bias against the defendants’ legal team.

Anglada’s role in the trial against BPA has sparked controversy, given evidence suggesting he was aware that Spanish authorities were conducting investigations into the bank and Andorra’s financial system in questionable ways. In 2013, he presided over a corruption case involving a Catalan mayor and Russian businessman Andrey Petrov, where evidence indicated that the Spanish police investigated Petrov without judicial authorization to examine Andorran banks and capital movements in the country.

Recently, Anglada denied the defendants’ request to pause the trial against BPA until investigations into the Patriotic Police and Rajoy’s interference in Andorra are concluded.

Gilbert Saboya Sunyé

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs (2011-2017)

Gilbert Saboya Sunyé served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during Antoni Martí’s government until Maria Ubach i Font took over in 2017. In 2014, the United States sent a letter to Saboya urging Andorra to strengthen its efforts against money laundering. Anton K. Smith, the economic advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, highlighted this concern, stating that “the United States had been warning Andorra for months about deficiencies in money laundering prevention.”

Jordi Gallardo

Minister of Finance of Andorra (2019-present)

Jordi Gallardo Fernàndez is the leader of the Liberals d’Andorra (Liberal) party, which is in coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA), and currently serves as the Minister of Finance. Before his appointment, Gallardo was a member of Andorra’s legislature from 2015 to 2019 and succeeded Jordi Cinca (DA) as head of the Ministry of Finance.

Liberals d'Andorra (Liberals)

The Liberals have been part of the government since 2019, forming a coalition with the DA under Xavier Espot’s leadership. As the head of the Liberals and the Minister of Finance, Jordi Gallardo plays a key role in the country’s economic direction.

Demòcrates per Andorra (DA)

DA has been in power since 2011, overseeing significant developments, including the expropriation and investigations related to BPA. The party secured majority wins in the General Council during the 2011 and 2015 elections under Antoni Martí’s leadership. Martí stepped down in 2019, and Xavier Espot succeeded him as party leader. Carles Eneñat Reig leads the DA’s parliamentary group, and his family owns two of Andorra’s largest banks, Andbank and Crèdit Andorrà.

The Andorra Financial Authority

The Andorra Financial Authority (AFA)—formerly known as the Institut Nacional Andorrà de Finances (INAF) until 2018—acts as the regulatory body overseeing Andorra’s financial system. BPA, like other banks in the country, was monitored by the INAF, which required annual audits and external expert evaluations of their anti-money laundering measures from firms like KPMG and Deloitte. When the INAF asked Andorran banks for information on reputational risks affecting the financial sector, BPA submitted a report on March 24, 2014, which included cases later flagged by FinCEN. Notably, BPA did not receive any warnings or feedback from the INAF concerning its clients prior to FinCEN’s notice.

In 2015, the INAF took control of BPA, placing it under the State Agency for Banking Resolutions (AREB). From 2012 to 2017, Maria Cosna led the INAF. Previously, she was KPMG’s director in Andorra and oversaw BPA’s audits from 2008 to 2011, during which time she did not issue any verbal or written warnings about BPA’s operations or clients.

Currently, the AFA is directed by Managing Director David Cerqueda, continuing its critical role in regulating Andorra’s financial landscape.

Andorran Banking System

The Reig Family

For nearly a century, the Reig family has been a prominent force in Andorra’s banking and political spheres. Òscar Ribas Reig, Andorra’s first prime minister, led Andbank as president until his passing in 2020. His son continues to play a significant role as the bank’s Vice-President. The Reig family is also closely involved with the Democrats for Andorra (DA) party, which has governed the country since 2011. Carles Enseñat-Reig, a key member of the family, currently leads the DA’s parliamentary group.

Andbank

Andbank, one of Andorra’s largest financial institutions, is owned by the influential Reig family. The bank has a long history of involvement in global financial controversies. In 2021, the Pandora Papers investigation linked Andbank to facilitating international money laundering and tax evasion via its accounting agency, AFSI. Andbank was also implicated in the Brazilian “Lava Jato” scandal, the largest money-laundering operation in history, yet the bank has largely avoided legal scrutiny in Andorra.

The Pujol family, infamous for hiding illicit wealth, used Andbank for years, including moving funds to Banca Privada d’Andorra (BPA) in 2010. Leaked tapes later revealed that the Spanish Patriotic Police (Policía Patriótica), a covert group involved in Operation Catalonia, chose not to target Andbank due to the former King of Spain’s offshore accounts at the bank.

Crèdit Andorrà

Crèdit Andorrà, another major bank in Andorra, is also owned by the Reig family through Reig Capital Group. Maria Reig-Moles, a key family figure, served as the bank’s president and played an instrumental role in Andorra’s constitutional drafting. In 2021, Crèdit Andorrà expanded by acquiring Vall Banc from JC Flowers & Co.

Manel Cerqueda Donadeu

Chairman of Andbank (2002-present)

Manel Cerqueda Donadeu, founder and Chairman of Andbank, is one of Andorra’s wealthiest and most prominent individuals. Prior to its 2002 merger with Banca Reig to become Andbank, Manel Cerqueda Donadeu was Chairman of Banc Agrícol i Comercial d’Andorra. He has since served as Andbank’s Chairman.

Oriol Ribas-Duró (Reig)

Deputy-Chairman of Andbank (2002-present)

Òscar Ribas-Reig, the first prime minister of Andorra and the founder and president of Andbank, is the father of Oriol Ribas-Duró. Prior to Banca Reig’s merger with Banc Agrícol to become Andbank, Oriol Ribas-Duró served as its CEO. At the moment, Ribas-Duró is the Vice-President of Reig Patrimonia, the influential holding company of the Reig family, and the Deputy-Chairman of Andbank.

The ‘Patriotic Police’

The Patriotic Police (Policia Patriotica) are a group of Spanish government officials, police, military personnel, and politicians who participated in “Operation Catalonia” [Operación Cataluña], a covert operation designed to crush the Catalan independence movement by locating and circulating incriminating information about prominent Catalan politicians, including Jordi Pujol, the former president of Catalonia’s government.

Currently involved in “Operation Catalonia” are former Spanish interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz, former interior deputy secretary Francisco Martinez, former National Police director general Ignacio Cosido, former finance minister Cristóbal Montoro, former prime minister Mariano Rajoy, and head of internal affairs for the Spanish National Police Martin Blas, National Police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo, and former interior minister Francisco Martinez.

Andorra Facts