Petromocho facts for kids

El Petromocho was a big political scandal that happened in Asturias, Spain, in 1993. It was a time when Asturias really needed new businesses and jobs because its old industries were struggling. This scandal led to the President of Asturias, Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil, stepping down from his job.

What Was the Petromocho Scandal?

In October 1992, a man named Jean-Maurice Lauze said he was a representative from the Saudi International Bank. He told the government of Asturias he wanted to invest a huge amount of money, about 100,000 million pesetas, to build a large oil refinery. This refinery would be built near the port of El Musel in Gijón.

The Big Promise of Investment

Negotiations for this big project went on for seven months. The plan was for the Asturian government to give a subsidy of 1,000 million pesetas to help with the project. In May 1993, the project was officially announced. It was presented as one of the biggest industrial investments ever made in Spain.

Building the Refinery and Creating Jobs

The plan said that construction of the oil refinery would start in 1994 and finish by 1998. This refinery was supposed to produce 180,000 barrels of oil every day. Most importantly, it was expected to create up to 4,000 new jobs for people in Asturias.

How the Fraud Was Discovered

Just one week after the exciting announcement, a local newspaper called Gijón Trade started an investigation. Three of its reporters looked into the project and soon declared that it was a fraud.

The Truth Comes Out

The newspaper contacted the Saudi International Bank, which confirmed it knew nothing about the project or Jean-Maurice Lauze. The New York bank that was supposedly going to help fund the project also turned out not to exist. The government of Asturias then realized they had been tricked by someone who was pretending to be important.

Who Was to Blame?

After the truth came out, President Rodríguez-Vigil and the Minister of Industry, Victor Zapico, started blaming each other. Zapico said he had not received any money from the negotiations. A government spokesperson even suggested that the whole plan might have been created to make the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) look bad. In May 1993, President Rodríguez-Vigil resigned, saying it was for "political dignity."

Aftermath of the Scandal

Even though Jean-Maurice Lauze said he was innocent, he was found guilty in July 1994. The court decided that he had faked official business documents.

The Forged Documents

The court found that Lauze's fake documents were made in the Saudi Kingdom embassy in Madrid. These papers falsely claimed that Lauze was in charge of oil supply contracts with a state-owned Saudi company called Saudi Samareg. The documents also said that the idea for the oil refinery came from the Saudi International Bank, which was linked to Prince Abdullah ibn Faisal ibn Turki Al-Abdullah Al-Saud. The fake documents were made to look like they were from a Swiss notary named Roland Rochat.