Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) on Thursday called on Spanish authorities to release three employees of its Madrid branch who were allegedly involved in a money-laundering case.
A spokesperson for ICBC told the Xinhua News Agency that it is hard to understand why a Spanish judge turned down the bail request from the three employees of the bank's Madrid office.
According to Spanish criminal procedure, bail should be refused only if conditions the detainees may attempt to escape, commit new crimes or destroy evidence after being released, the spokesperson said.
However, one of the detainees, the branch manager, went to Madrid after the investigation started. Another female employee returned to Madrid voluntarily to cooperate with the investigation from China.
According to the spokesperson, Spanish authorities have taken away all the materials involved in the case during the raid on February 17, and there is no possibility for the detainees to destroy the evidence.
In addition, one of the female detainees submitted medical records to the court before the investigation, and also has a young daughter to be taken care of. The Spanish authorities should respect the facts and guarantee the detainees' legitimate rights, the spokesperson said.
ICBC is paying close attention to the case and will continue to cooperate with the investigation, the spokesperson said, adding that ICBC will also continue to improve its own anti-money laundering system.
Spanish Civil Guards reportedly raided the Madrid offices of ICBC on February 17 as part of a joint operation against alleged money laundering by the Civil Guard and Spain's Anti-Corruption Attorney's Office.
The raid was reported to be connected with a major police operation known as Operation Snake, which has seen over 65 searches carried out in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia since its launch in May 2015, and it has led to over 30 arrests, Xinhua said.
