Forum offered credits to their clients to buy the stamps, although the plans also served for paying the mortgages -in Spain most people have mortgages-. Finance Minister, Pedro Solbes denied on March 17th, that these kind of credits had a “financial nature”, what would have risen the supervision from both Spanish Central Bank and the National Assets Market Commision (CNMV) and also the guarantees to the investors, who would have had a Deposit Fund. He had denied that cualification when the firms assured a yearly minimum interest of 5-6.5%, which was qualified by the experts of the Tax Bureau -dependant from the Financial and Economy Ministry- as a “financial activity“.
Wikipedia explains this much more clearly:
As with equity investment, investment in tangible goods is not protected by a mandatory warranty fund under Spanish law (available only to registered financial institutions, which allowed the victims of the earlier Banesto and Gescartera scandals to recover a small part of their assets). Such investment is overseen by the Consumption departments of the regional governments instead of the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores. Customers of Afinsa affected by the situation have formed several associations, as have customers of Forum.
As the majority owner of NASDAQ traded company Escala Group, the scandal deeply affected Escala’s share price, which plummeted more than 85% in the days after the arrests before recovering slightly.
They went up again after (103%) the Spanish authorities assured Escala was not affected.
Investors were told they may not recover their money after the raids. Afinsa is not registered as a financial institution and is not subject to the same regulatory guidelines affecting other companies. Under Spanish law, Afinsa simply acts as an intermediary to buy investments for its clients.
As a result investors are not entitled to the same standard of protection as if they had bought shares or put their money in a bank.
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the Interior Minister, said yesterday the police operation was important and had been carried out with the co-operation of some of the alleged victims.
Feelings were running high among worried investors outside the companies’ offices. One investor, who gave his name as Felix, protested outside the offices of Fórum Filatélico in Madrid. He had looked forward to cashing in profits from his stamp investment when he retires in August. “My whole life is here,” he said. “Clearly I am nervous, but this is not the only reason. My wife is going to kill me. She wanted to take my money out of the company.” Another investor, called Roberto, said: “I have put a lot of money into this. This could ruin my life. I want my money back now.”
PP has accused the Government of leaving the affected unprotected. But Elena Salgado, Minister of Health and Consumption, has denied the consitution of a Fund, which was requested by PP and the affected, because “it would be unjust, because it would mean that the contributors ahould be ready to finance the haigher risk united to a higher interest rate these inversions have“. This proposal has been critisized hardly because of the conception of State that this happens to be based upon: a nanny State who provides about everything. The affected people have demonstrated in front of Central Offices of PSOE in Madrid.
More than 350.000 people are affected because of this fraud, who were eager to invest, as the rate was, in some cases between 14 and 16%, when the normal rates in other pension plans were 7,22%. The total compromised inversion was about the 10% of all the inversion in pensions plans at the end of 2005. The most affacted are people with very low income and self-workers, but the Government is going to give a very low payment for the affected people who are retired and do not have any other pension.
To pay the accumulated debt the Judges had to ask for help to determinate the real value of the stamps. But the operation is going to be difficult and if all the stamps they own are sold in the market, the price will fall completely as these two firms moved 80% of Spanish stamp’s market. Any of them determinated the value according to Edifil and Manfilsa’s catalogs. This has produced various abuses: Afinsa’s stamps have a value 10 times higher than the ones any other stamp collector would have payed for them.
The fact that the Financial Ministry had the proofs for the intervention of the societies 9 months ago and the proximity to the debate of the Statute of Catalonia and to the prosecution of 3 policeman for illegal detention of 2 PP militants -who had been accused of an inexistent aggression to Defense Minister Bono-made a lot of people guess this was not a mere “coincidence”. Although the Anti-Corruption prosecutor said that a lapse of 9 months is normal to ionvestigate this kind of cases, this margin was sufficient for Fórum to pick up 16.000 more investors. In the first report, the Tax Bureau pointed out that “the stamps were valued for more than 13 times its market value“. But the investigation went further to detect that the firms were destroying stamps for a total value of 5 million of euros and buying others for a much larger quantity than the ones accounted. Both are signs of a possible transfer of actives to foreign countries.
So the process for the liquidation of Afinsa has begun with the appointing of its administrators during this process. Afinsa’s ex-president and 3 of the members of the Management Council were freed.
And today it has begun the process for the liquidation of Fórum Filatélico, which has a financial hole of 2.700-3.400 millions of euros. The total compromises of the firm were between 3.500 and 4.200 millions of euros but its assets were only 410 millions. This is one of the causes of opposition to the provisional freedom of the ex-president of the company, Mr. Briones, now in prison, and other three members of the Mangement Council. They are accused of aggravated swindle, unloyal management, punishable bankruptcy, fraud against Public Treasury and money laundering -although it’s not clear this last one and they have risen the prohibition of the banks account’s disposal of several of the accused-.
The two of the have a “financial hole” of 4.166 euros, greater than the one discovered in Banesto in 1993.
The prosecutors have said that the firms were lying twice to the investors: first, when they were selling at prices much higher than real and then, by telling them, the rates came from a rise in their value, which was non-existent.
When Madrid is far the most affected city of all, Time.com choses Barcelona’s affected to finish its article with “I am ashamed to be Spanish“. As if Enron or Clearstream never existed eh???
And the Portuguese are worried about the scandal.
The bitter critics is for the Consumer’s Associations who did not make any move till today, when they are demanding the affected investors to affiliate themselves and, as a result to pay the respective fee.
Libertad Digital asks other questions. Among others:
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Why Socialist Minister Rubalcaba filtered this operation when the offices of the firms had not even begun?
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Why if the auditors alerted about some irregularities in Afinsa’s documents and the assurance firm Lloyds did not renew the insurance policy, no one raised the alarm about the stamps’ value?
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Can two societies like Afinsa and Fórum set up a swindle that last 25 years without any authority taking notice of it?
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How on earth a firm whose objective is to attract savings is under the control of the Health and Consumer Ministry.
There are other obscure things in this case: never has any Autonomous Community renounced to a exclusive competence of the granted to them by the Constitution. Well, in this case they have.
Last news are that Escala Group is going to sue Spanish Government for unjustified alarm.
More information: The Guardian, Fox News, Think Spain, Forbes.com, Cinco Días,
Blogs treating this:
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ZP no es bueno: Gestynsa, the auditor firm of Afinsa, is owned by Francisco Blázquez Ortiz, father of Jorge Blázquez, who works with Miguel Sebastian, Chief of Economical Office of Mr Zapatero’s Government. Mr. Blázquez pressured the Institute of Accountancy and Business Administration (ICAC, in Spanish) not to begin any process -administrative- against Gestynsa.
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Nescencia Necat: the post about the scandal by an affected of it. Compares this scandal with RUMASA, holding expropriated to its owner, Ruiz Mateos.
Tags: Afinsa, Fórum Filatélico, Financial scandals, Spain, Zapatero
Letter originally adressed to The European Parliament in Brussels
I want to send a complaint about the tragic intervention, carried out by the
Spanish Socialist Government in collaboration with the Tribatury Department and
heavy armed police-forces. I am referring to the intervention of the two Spanish
companies Afinsa and Forum Filatelico the 9th of May this year, leaving around
460.000 people and their families without all their savings. The two mentioned
companies have been selling and buying stamps for more than 25 years. Many
Spanish people invested their money in the companies.
As one of the affected persons, together with my Spanish wife, in Afinsa, I am
waiting for the real truth in this confused case. The Afinsa company has always
maintained their obligations with all their clients. The companie´s obligations
were stopped violently after the intervention of the Spanish Socialist
Government. The “Operation Atrio” was realised just based on suspected
corruption in the two companies, like accusations of money laundering,
transferring of money to tax paradises, false stamps, bad administration and so
on, but until now the authorities have not found any evidence of those
accusations. The directors of the two companies, that in the beginning were put
in jail are now liberated. The directors of Afinsa were also liberated without
any bail.
The intervention was well prepared by the Socialists and the Tributary
Department. TVE (the national Spanish television) and newspapers, all controlled
by the government, had been informed about this operation. They were already
waiting outside the offices of Afinsa and Forum in Madrid when the heavy
exaggerated machine-gun armed police-forces entered the buildings. Staff and
clients inside the offices believed that the police-forces were searching for
ETA terrorists. Women that worked as secretaries have told that the armed
police-force also searched through their personal things in their hand bags.
It has been very difficult to receive any exact and trustworthy information from
the Spanish authorities, because TVE and many newspapers are under govern-
ment sensured control. It has been like a type of psychological warfare against
the victims of Afinsa and Forum.
It do not seems logical that a government in Europe wants to create panic among
the investors, in this case normal labour and modest Spanish
people…………but
may be that was the intention. May be that President Rodriguez Zapatero and his
complices really wanted to attract the Spanish people´s attention to this
intervention, forgetting other embarrassed problems in which the socialists were
involved. Another thing is that several bancs have indulged the Spanish
Socialist party several millions of euro, loans that the socialists have
obtained in relation with their expensive election campaign. The Socialist party
has got several Director-friends in the Spanish bancs. The most famous is Mr.
Emilio Botin, a director that earlier has been investigated, and still is being
investigated for economic corruption. In this case the authorities have found
evidence, but I think it is very unlikely that this important owner of the Banco
Santander Central Hispano will be put for trial. He is still in charge of his
banc, making journeys to all over the world to make new millon-contracts. It
seems that President Rodrigues Zapatero and his complices not have any plans to
stop him or make a heavy-armed police intervention in his “economic empire”, The
Banc of Santander.
The Directors of the Spanish bancs are now very satisfied, well conscious that
they will receive thousands of new clients that will put their savings in their
bancs and not in companies like Afinsa or Forum. A favour obtained thanks to the
Spanish Socialist Government.
Despite of not having found any evidence, the socialist authorities are trying
to prolong this lamentable case of Afinsa and Forum Filatelico. The affected
people are afraid that the authorities will “invent” whatever, trying
desperately to save their skin.
Another thing. Meanwhile the Socialists and the Tributary Department
desperately are trying to find “something”, the government administrators that
are investigating the companies are receiving exaggerated salaries, salaries
that are taken from us, as investors in Afinsa and Forum. Money that we have
earned by hard work during decades. It is so injust ! And everything thanks to
the Spanish Socialists.
Almost five months have passed since the tragic incidence. President Rodriguez
Zapatero told the affected people to have confidence……., after having
completed the “Operation Atrio”. Since then he has not mentioned the case…..?
The President has got many “Dreams of Greatness”. Unfortunately some of his
dreams are prejudicating the people in the street, like the investors in Afinsa
and Forum.
The actual President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, and the actual
Spanish minister of health and consume, Elena Salgado, signed the book of honour
belonging to Afinsa in 1992. Salgado wrote: “so that the Spaniards save more in
stamps.” (She was then president of Post office and Telegraphs.)
The affected people of Afinsa and Forum have tried to receive help from the
“European Ombudsman” in Strasbourg, but according to reply from him, he and his
staff are not working with this type of problems.
I hope that the European Community will not be passive before this
violation against the rights of almost half a millon of Spaniards and their
families. Because, after 5 months, and knowing the political character of this
case from the beginning we do not trust the impartiality of the Spanish justice.
This serious and tragic case need a objective justice, to illuminate this oscure
and tragic case. It was not Afinsa, not either Forum that suspended their
economic obligations. It was the Government of Rodriguez Zapatero.
Thanks for reading this complaint.
With best regards.
T. Kvarner
T Kvarner: Thanks for your letter. Can I put it in a post, so it has a wider audience?
I’ll wait for your answer.
18th of October
Lady Vorzheva
Thanks for Your replay.It would be fine if You can put it in a post so my letter will has a wider audience. Approx. 1.500.000 Spaniards (including their families) are affected by this economic tragedy. The Spanish socialist government has got a great responsability in this case.
Thanks in advance
T. Kvarner
[…] Some months ago, I posted a summary of the AFINSA scandal. It was nothing more than a summary of what had happened. I did not have an opinion of the case, but I wanted to know what had happened. […]
THE SITUATION FOR THE AFFECTED SPANIARDS OF THE AFINSA AND THE FORUM FILATELICO
COMPANIES NINE MONTHS AFTER THE MISTAKEN, ILLEGAL, TRAGIC AND EXAGGERATED
INTERVENTION OF THE PRESIDENT RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO AND HIS COLLABORATORS.
NINE MONTHS AFTER IT IS MORE THAN EVIDENT THAT IT WAS NOT ANY STAMP SCANDAL,
BUT A GREAT SCANDAL OF THE SPANISH SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT, CONDUCTED BY THE
PRESIDENT ZAPATERO, AND INSPECTOR YABAR OF THE TRIBUTARY AGENCY.
Now we have proved, thanks to an internal document of the Federal Executive
Committee of the Spanish socialist party (PSOE), dated the 19th of may,
presentated by the newspaper “El Economista”.
The socialist party confirms explicated that the intervention of Afinsa and
Forum Filatelico not is in accordance with the law, not either to the common
sence, nor to any type of fraud. The document mentioned above confirms that it
is advantageous actuate in this way “because the government of Rodriguez
Zapatero is hunting corruption cases in an exhaustive way”. ALTHOUGH THE CASES
ARE INVENTED. It is incredible that a government in a “European democracy” in
2006 decided, without any scruples, to ruin 460.000 citizens. Citizens who lost
all their lifesavings during the illegal intervention of the President Zapatero.
The socialist government also destroyed the labour of 4.000 persons who worked
in Afinsa and Forum.
The President Zapatero and his collaborators had informed TVE (the Spanish
national television) and their newspapers of PSOE, so that they could be
prepared in the moment when President Zapatero, the minister of interior
Rubalcaba, and other implicated persons sent their anti-terrorist police , armed
in an exaggerated way (it looked more like an attack against the ETA-terrorists)
against the offices of Afinsa and Forum.
What type of President and government do we have here in Spain ? They are
“criminals”, and they are doing whatever they want. El partido popular (PP) has
warned the President Zapatero and his socialist government about the earnestness
in this case: “That the Spanish socialist party (PSOE) can not put their own
interests and proyects before the Spanish law.
But unfortunately the President Zapatero is “a wolf in disguise”. Since the
Franco era, Spain has not seen a President who has showed an indifference like
the President Zapatero. An indifference that some of the other politicians of
PSOE also are sharing.
Mrs. Salgado got a direct question from mr. Pujalte (partido popular), if she
really knew how many citizens who are affected by “the intervention of her
socialist party). The answer that the minister Salgado gave was really cold
shivering: “I DO NOT KNOW, NOR I DO NOT NEED TO KNOW IT”. She is the minister of
health and consume, a minister who has a great responsibility in this case of
Afinsa and Forum. It is a shame. The ministry of health and consume is
responsible for the regulations of companies like Afinsa and Forum.
And the minister of finance, mr Solbes with his cynic smile, when he talks about
“the intervention by his socialist party” in Afinsa and Forum.
The first viceminister, de la Vega, who participates in the incontrollated hunt
for economic corruption. Also without any type of scruples. How can de la Vega
say that this economic corruption hunt is a great advantage for the Spanish
people, when 460.000 modest citizens have lost all their life-savings thanks to
the Spanish socialist party ?
And mr. Rubalcaba, the minister of interior, and one of the “brains” in the
policy of the Spanish socialist party. He is directing his anti-terrorist police
against the Spanish citizens, instead of trying to find other missions for his
police-force. We remember his phrases: ” I want those two companies dead”. (He
made of course references to the Afinsa and Forum Filatelico companies).
I have got the impression that these politicians are living in their own world,
they do not want to give explications, they do no want to answer any questions,
they do not want to tell the truth. Their style is power, dangerous
manipulations and arrogance. Spain is nowadays a “police-state”.
According to mr. Gravalos (one of the administrators elected by the socialist
party after the intervention the 9th of may to investigate Afinsa) the stamps of
Afinsa were worthless, the stamps were false or the stamps did not existed etc.
etc.
But now, nine months later, the situation is that there is a fight going on for those
stamps. The President Zapatero and his socialist government want to appropriate
those stamps that belong to us. The socialist party (PSOE) wants to regulate the
filatelic inversion. Their proyect is to appropriate the stamps to a saldo price
after the liquidation of the two companies, and later on selling the stamps to
the Spanish banks. Some Spanish banks have condonated more than 40 millions of
euros that the socialist party had loaned in relation with their expensive
election campaign. We understand that the President Zapatero and his socialists
want to show their gratitude to the Spanish banks. The socialist government will
also get rid of companies like Afinsa and Forum. The Spanish banks will not have
any more competition.
Besides, the President Zapatero and his socialist party wanted to hide something
that 9th of may. Their intervention in Afinsa and Forum attracted the attention
of the Spanish people from other doubtful cases in which the socialist party
were involved. Another example of the manipulation of the President Zapatero.
According to information that I have gained, there seems to be a relation
between the inspector Yabar in the tributary agency, some of her relatives and
the Bank of Santander Hispano. Within the tributary agency there are employees,
admitting that the inspector Yabar was wrong in the Afinsa and Forum case.
The nature juridical, regarding companies like Afinsa and Forum is mercantile.
It will say as follows: If an inspector of the tributary agency (in this case
mrs. Yabar) make the decision of her own risk, considerating that the companies
are financial (though it is well known that the companies are mercantile), she
is not allowed to make an advantage tributary to the benefit of her agency.
In accordance with article no. 33 she was not allowed to make any intervention
in Afinsa and Forum with the object destroying them. This is not any
responsibility of the tributary agency, nor the tributary anti-corruption have
got the licence for any intervention.
The tributary inspector Maria Teresa Yábar Sterling wanted to consult (in 2004)
the KPMG consulting company regarding the Afinsa company. The result of the
consultation that the inspector Yábar received was incorrectly. A result that
went against the Afinsa company.
However, mrs. Yábar trusted in the KPMG´s mistaken investigation. And the
Spanish authorities received the “Yábar´s Package”, and presented an
announcement to the judge, mr. Santiago Pedraz.
However, I also have to mention that the consulting company KPMG, in which mrs.
Yábar trusted, is now under suspicion by the United States authorities for
tax-fraud for around 12.000 millions of dollars.
The 18th of January this year the inspector Yábar emerges, from where, I do not
know ? NOW SHE SAYS THAT THE AFINSA COMPANY FOLLOWED THE SPANISH TRIBUTARY LAW
PERFECTLY.
The Afinsa and Forum case will end up with trials against the President
Zapatero, the inspector Yabar and other guilties. Today this is impossible
because the President Zapatero and his socialist party is manipulating the
judges. We have to wait until the next elections in 2008, hoping that we will
have a change of government in Spain. We want a government that will respect the
Spanish law without any manipulations.
The President Zapatero has gained a reputation as a great strategist in
manipulations. One example is that the President found a new director for the
director job in the Bank of Spain. Of course a socialist. The motive for this was
to silence a report made by the Bank of Spain after the 9th of may. This report
made it clear that the Afinsa and Forum companies were mercantiles.
Another thing is that, according to the law, the Spanish authorities should have given
the companies 15 months to resolve any possible irregularity. In this case the socialist
authorities did not follow that law.
In “the Banesto Bank case” some years ago the authorities detained the guilty directors
of the Banesto Bank, but they did not retained the savings that belonged to the savers.
The Banesto Banco was then able to continue. Why did not the authorities do the same
thing in the Afinsa and Forum case ?
The answer is very simple. The Spanish socialist party (PSOE) wanted to get rid of the
Afinsa and Forum clients.
The affected Spaniards by the “intervention of the PSOE and the tributary
agency” have sent several complaints against the Spanish socialist government to
the “European Ombudsman” in Strasbourg, mr. Nikiforos. But he is only returning
the complaints to Spain, to the “Spanish Ombudsman” mr. Mugica. Because it is
this person who has got the responsibility to help the affected citizens.
But the tragic case is that mr. Mugica belongs to the Spanish socialist party
(PSOE). He is totally disqualified in this case of Afinsa and Forum because as a
member of the socialist party he is obligated to follow the “instructions” and
the “pathological wishes” of the President Zapatero. Spain is in urgent need of
a “Spanish Ombudsman” who can work for the benefit of his citizens, independent
and neutral.
It seems like that trials against politicians of the Spanish socialist party
(PSOE) is something habitual after their government period. I am thinking about
the government of Felipe Gonzalez and their corruption scandals.
If the first Viceminister, sra. de la Vega is so eager to fight against
corruption for the benefit of the Spanish people, I will suggest that she starts
investigating her own political colleagues and some of the directors in the
Spanish banks.
The period of the President Zapatero is now going to an end. According to
investigations made by some neutral spanish newspapers, the President Zapatero
is the most unpopular president since the Franco era.
In the meanwhile the affected citizens of “the military intervention” of the President
Zapatero are continuing with different activities, like manifestations and so
on. But only a few newspapers are interested in knowing the real truth in this tragic
case. The socialist controlled TVE and newspapers are also manipulating the Afinsa and
Forum news to their own benefit.
Nine months have passed since the violent and exaggerated military intervention of the
President Zapatero. The affected Spanish people are not receiving any correct or trust-
worthy information from the Spanish socialist government. It seems that the Spanish
socialist authorities have decided to hide the Afinsa and Forum case. They are very well
aware of their own great responsibility in the Afinsa and Forum case.
Regards
Tomas Perez
¡Long Life Germany! ¡Long Life E.ON!
WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE DARK TRUTH OF THE BRUTAL AND TRAGIC INTERVENTION OF THE AFINSA AND FORUM COMPANIES CARRIED OUT BY THE PRESIDENT RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO, THE MINISTER OF INTERIOR RUBALCABA AND OTHER HIGH RANKING SPANISH SOCIALISTS THE 9TH OF MAY LAST YEAR.
I want to send some comments regarding the Afinsa and Forum case. As one of the affected persons I have been following the development of the case since the 9th of May last year.
It is more and more evident that the President Rodriguez Zapatero, the Minister of Interior Rubalcaba, the Minister of Economy Solbes and other high ranking socialists close to the Spanish socialist-partys leadership, really wanted to get rid of the two companies.
Firstly: They did not have any scruples to gain this goal, leaving behind almost 500.000 Spanish small-savers without all their lifesavings. Normal modest people, and also retired elderly people and children. The top socialist leaders wanted to strengthen even more their relations with some of the Spanish banks. The Spanish socialist party has now started their election-campaign, and is now dependent of new million-loans from their director-friends in some of the Spanish banks. This time the directors will show their gratitude to the Spanish socialists for having eliminated their old competitors – Afinsa and Forum.
Another topic that the Spanish people in the streets are discussing now is:
Secondly: The Spanish top socialist-leaders had promised the Basc terrorist-group ETA 20 millons of euros in relation with the “peace negotiations” between the socialist party (PSOE) and the terrorists (ETA). One topic is that the socialist leaders hoped to find “this money” in the Afinsa and Forum companies. They hoped to find “black money” in the companies, money that nobody would have been able to reclaime afterwards. But the Government of the President Rodriguez Zapatero failed. One of the brains could have been the Minister of Economy Pedro Solbes, because he gained experience in relation with the illegal intervention of the Rumasa company during the Government of Felipe Gonzalez.
The heavy armed police that the Minister Rubalcaba sent to the offices belonging to Afinsa and Forum were also wearing empty bags, bags for wearing all the black money. But the socialists failed in their calculations. They only found stamps, stamps that belong to the affected people of Afinsa and Forum.
Afterwards the Spanish socialists desperately tried an intervention in the Bank of Espirito Santo (Banco Espirito Santo), and later also the French bank, BNP Paribas. But they failed once more.
The last attac by the Basc terrorist-group ETA in the airport of Barajas outside Madrid, where two citizens from Ecuador where assassinated, may have been a reminder to the Government of President Rodriguez Zapatero regarding the 20 millions of euros that the terrorists still are waiting for. I suppose that it will be difficult for the Socialist trying to loan millions of euros in Spanish banks for this purpose ?
Almost one year has passed after the brutal and tragic intervention of the Spanish socialists in the Afinsa and Forum companies. The authorities have not found any evidence for the socialist governments accusations. Several investigations against Afinsa and Forum have also been suspended by a Judge.
Now we want the real truth about the tragic intervention carried through by the Spanish socialists. The only alternative is to vote for the only opposition party in Spain, el partido popular.
Regards
Amanda Mendez
THE SPANISH SOCIALIST GOVERNMENTS ROBBERY OF THE AFINSA AND FORUM COMPANIES
One and a half year has passed since the tragic and brutal intervention of the Spanish Socialist Government of President Rodriguez Zapatero. One and a half year after it seems clear that the Spanish Socialists have not found any evidence for fraud in the Afinsa and Forum Filatelico companies.It seems very clear that the exaggerated intervention the 9th of May last year was an exactly planned intervention of the Spanish Socialist Government. A few days before the tragic intervention, a presumed meeting took place at hotel Atrio in Valladolid. The two protagonists where the dangerous party-ideolog, the Minister of Interior Alfredo Rubalcaba, and Emilio Botin, the director of the Spanish bank, El Banco Santander Hispano. Mr. Botin has earlier been under investigation because of whitewashing of black money, falsification of signatures of dead clients etc etc. But now he seems to be one of the Spanish Socialist Governments most faithful economical advisers.Mr. Botin and his bank, El Banco Santander Hispano, remissed the enormous debt of 42.000 millons of euro, that the Spanish Socialists have obtained since the era of President Felipe Gonzalez.To show their gratitude, the Spanish Socialists realized the tragic intervention of the Afinsa and Forum Filatelico companies the 9th of May last year. They destroyed the life-savings of 500.000 (half a million) Spanish families. Two millions of Spaniards (including all the family-members) are now suffering from the Spanish Socialists brutal intervention . Afterwards Mr. Botin has not got any competition from the two mentioned companies.The Socialist Administrators of the two embargoed companies have now started to sell the stamps that belongs to Spanish small-savers. Mr. Botin also wants the beautiful building in the Genova Street in Madrid that Afinsa used as their headquarter. The Spanish Socialists have already started to destroy the properties of the Afinsa and Forum Filatelico companies, and of course the life-savings of half a million Spanish families. Portuguese small-savers, and Spanish families in France are also affected by this inhuman intervention. It is a shame that such a cruel economic robbery can find place in todays Western Europe. But the Spanish Socialist leadership are manipulating the Justice, for their own advantage, in todays Spain. Judges, like for example Garzon and Pedraz who are involved in the Socialists manipulations, are men who have got political ambitions in the Spanish Socialist party. What type of credibility can these Judges have in relation with the Afinsa and Forum investigations ?The Socialists had also promised the Basc Terrorists millions of euros, black money, that they also hoped to find in Afinsa and Forum Filatelico. May be that the presumed black money, later on would have been canalized to the Basc Terrorists ? The heavy-armed police force, under the command of the Minister of Interior, Alfredo Rubalcaba, where also equipped with empty bags for this purpose. A third thing was that the Spanish Socialists where eager to create a cloud of smoke that 9th of May last year because of “the Bono case”, injustified problems that they created in relation with their ex-Defense Minister as the protagonist.The name of the operation against Afinsa and Forum was “Operation Atrio”, named after the hotel in Valladolid where Alfredo Rubalcaba and Emilio Botin decided the tragic destruction of the life-savings of half a million Spaniards. Afterwards the Minister of Interior, Rubalcaba said that he wanted the Afinsa and Forum companies dead.The Spanish victims of the Spanish Socialist Governments robbery of their life-savings hope that the European Commission of Human Rights in Strasbourg will start to investigate this tragic case. Like they did regarding the “Rumasa case”, another Spanish company that was destroyed by the Socialists under the government of President Felipe Gonzalez. 25 years after that robbery, carried out by the Spanish Socialists at that time, the Rumasa company won the case in Strasbourg. The Spanish State was condemned by the Human Rights Commission to pay indemnisation to the Rumasa company.The victims of Afinsa and Forum are hoping that they do not need to wait for so long time to recover their legal money.The Spanish President, Rodriguez Zapatero, is a Sheep in a Wolfs disguise. He is a patetic and manipulating person who is capable of whatever to maintain his own, and his Socialist partys governmental position. Several of his political collaborators have earlier been investigated for economical fraud, but separation of power do not exists in todays Spain.One of the Socialist Judges declared; “We are not in urgent need of investigating fraud, in which the Spanish Socialists have been involved. May be there will be investigations after the general elections in 2008 “? The Juridical power is dependent of the Government.The affected Spaniards of the Spanish Socialist Governments robbery want an independent investigation and Justice, something that is impossible with the criminal Government of President Rodriguez Zapatero. Several politicians from the other parties are also reclaiming Justice for the affected people of Afinsa and Forum Filatelico. The Senator of the PNV (The Basc National Party) declared the 25th of October during a radio-transmission; “That the intervention of the Afinsa and Forum Filatelico companies is a political case. Exclusively. And that the Government do not want that these companies should continue. Independently if the Administrations are guilties or innocents.” Declarations that he has ratificated during several occasions. Consequently, it do not exists any fraud in relation with these two companies. Exists a robbery commited by the Socialist Government of Zapatero. The reason for this is that they want to take control over important companies, and leave the citizens in ruin. Ex-Minister of Consume, Elena Salgado, and ex-President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, recommended the Spaniards to invest their savings in the Afinsa and Forum companies. They also signed the Book of Honor in Afinsa.The Spanish king, Juan Carlos and his family have during several years made publicity for the Forum Filatelico company with their sailing-yacht that they have had for their disposal. The Spaniards where well aware of the publicity for “Forum Filatelico” that was written on the both sides of the kings sailing-yacht. The two companies always carried through their obligations. 5000 Spaniards have also lost their jobs in Afinsa and Forum Filatelico. The affected Spaniards and Portugueses want Justice now ! Regards Amanda Mendez