Leading Construction Company faces corruption charges

LEADING Spanish construction company Obrascón Huarte Laín (OHL) is facing corruption allegations after irregular hiring practises were discovered during the Lezo investigation.

The company, specifically the company’s director Juan Miguel Villar Mir, is under investigation for a multitude of criminal allegations including corruption, criminal organisation, prevarication, embezzlement, fraud in contracting, bribery, influence peddling, corruption in business and laundering.

The allegations go back to 2018 when Mir was director of OHL’s sister company Grupo Villar Mir.

An investigation launched by Manuel García Castellón, magistrate of the Ministerio Fiscal on March 14 2018 after OHL was found to have awarded substantial commissions to public officials to ensure that OHL received the contracts for municipal works, to an amount of nearly €50 million.

Confirmation of the commissions was obtained after the Guardia Civil record conversations between former OHL employees, describing a hierarchy of control with former CEO of OHL Rafael Martín de Nicolás at the head.

The company is also under investigation into money laundering, specifically into the collection of money to pay for the commissions.

According to the report, OHL used heir Mexican subsidiary, OHL Constructora de Proyectos Viales de México de CV, to transfer €3.4 million to Luxemburg based Lendir Investments.