This Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled positively on the transfer by Spain to Portugal of the person responsible for the defrauding of the Philatelic Forum, Francisco Briones, so that he can serve the sentence to which he has been sentenced.
Francisco Briones Nieto, a Spanish citizen, serving a prison sentence of eleven years and ten months for fraud in Spain, was also sentenced in Portugal to a prison term of six years and six months for committing aggravated fraud.
Briones was responsible for the Philatelic Forum after setting up a fraudulent pyramid scheme in both countries, but, the CJEU ruled in a statement, “the facts covered by the Spanish and Portuguese decisions are not identical.”
The Spanish National Public questioned the European court on its interpretation of the law in failing to comply with the European arrest warrant issued by Portugal, and decided that the sentence imposed in this country would be served in Spain, claiming that the facts for which he had been convicted were identical.
The CJEU found that, “although the operating methods were identical, the activities were carried out through different legal entities”.
They also considered that the fraudulent activities in Portugal continued after the initiation of the investigation procedure and the cessation of activities in Spain.
The European arrest warrant was issued by Portugal in 2021, when Francisco Briones Nieto was already serving a sentence in Spain.
Source: DN
