Rodrigo Rato

Rodrigo Rato
Managing Director of the
International Monetary Fund
In office
7 June 2004 – 1 November 2007
Preceded byHorst Köhler
Succeeded byDominique Strauss-Kahn
First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
In office
3 September 2003 – 17 April 2004
Prime MinisterJosé María Aznar
Preceded byMariano Rajoy
Succeeded byMaría Teresa Fernández de la Vega
Minister of Economy
In office
27 April 2000 – 17 April 2004
Prime MinisterJosé María Aznar
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPedro Solbes
Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain
In office
6 May 1996 – 4 September 2003
Prime MinisterJosé María Aznar
Preceded byJuan Antonio García Díez
Succeeded byJavier Arenas
Minister of Economy and Finance
In office
5 May 1996 – 27 April 2000
Prime MinisterJosé María Aznar
Preceded byPedro Solbes
Succeeded byCristóbal Montoro (Finance)
Member of the Congress of Deputies
In office
21 November 1989 – 12 May 2004
ConstituencyMadrid
In office
28 October 1982 – 21 November 1989
ConstituencyCádiz
Personal details
Born
Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo

(1949-03-18) 18 March 1949 (age 75)
Madrid, Spain
Political partyPeople's Party
Spouse
Alicia Gonzalez
(m. 2015)
Children3
RelativesRamón Rato (Father)
EducationComplutense University
University of California, Berkeley

Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo (born 18 March 1949) is a businessman and politician who served in the Council of Ministers of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He also served as the ninth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2004 to 2007 and the president of Bankia from 2010 to 2012.

Rato was arrested on 16 April 2015 for alleged fraud, embezzlement and money laundering.[1][2] His case was still awaiting trial a year later when his name appeared in the Panama Papers.[3] Despite his prior assurances that he did not own companies in tax havens,[4] apparently he used two offshore companies to avoid taxes on millions of euros kept overseas.[5] It has been alleged that he owes taxes to both the Spanish and Panamanian governments.[6]

On 23 February 2017, Rato was found guilty of embezzlement of about 100,000 euros (in the so-called case "black cards") and sentenced to 4½ years' imprisonment.[7] In September 2018, the sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Spain,[8] and Rato entered prison on 25 October 2018.[9][10]

  1. ^ «Rato, detenido en el registro de su vivienda en Madrid por supuestos delitos de fraude y blanqueo.» RTVE. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Spanish police search home and off ex-IMF chief Rodrigo Rato". BBC News. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  3. ^ Europa Press (18 April 2016). "Rodrigo Rato, también en los 'Papeles de Panamá'". europapress.es.
  4. ^ Íñigo de Barrón (17 April 2015). "Rodrigo Rato: "No tengo sociedades en paraísos fiscales ni fuera de la UE"". EL PAÍS.
  5. ^ EUROPA PRESS. MADRID (18 April 2016). "Nacional – Rodrigo Rato: Más de 3,6 millones de euros en dos offshore". diariodenavarra.es.
  6. ^ "Rodrigo Rato dejó a deber dinero incluso a la Hacienda de Panamá". ELMUNDO. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ^ Jones, Sam (23 January 2017). "Former IMF chief gets four years in jail for embezzlement in Spain". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  8. ^ "El Supremo confirma la condena de 4 años y seis meses de cárcel para Rodrigo Rato por las tarjetas black". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  9. ^ Rodrigo Rato ingresa en la prisión de Soto del Real: "Pido perdón a la sociedad" (in Spanish)
  10. ^ Ex-IMF head Rodrigo Rato starts jail term in 'black cards' case