Spain’s Tax Agency is facing a new internal shake-up following the removal of two of its most senior officials: Virginia Muñoz Fernández, director of the Collection Department, and Manuel Trillo Álvarez, director of the Financial and Tax Inspection Department. Both changes come at a particularly sensitive moment for the institution, marked by the departure of Soledad Fernández Doctor as director general and by growing political controversy surrounding the so-called Zapatero case.
The changes at the top of the AEAT come after the judge in the Plus Ultra case offered the Finance Ministry the opportunity to appear as a potential injured party over jewellery seized from the office of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, valued at €1.3 million. That decision has placed the tax authority under pressure, as its possible involvement in the proceedings could have significant consequences for the development of the case.
Although the Finance Ministry argues that the replacements are due to professional reasons and had been planned in advance, the timing has fueled serious suspicions among the opposition and the public. The fact that the departures affect two key departments — Collection and Inspection — has reinforced the view that the Tax Agency may be facing a deeper internal crisis.
Within this scenario, the shift from Muñoz to Trillo further deepens the uncertainty surrounding the stance the Finance Ministry will ultimately adopt in the proceedings involving Zapatero, as the key issue is still whether the Tax Agency will declare itself an injured party, a choice that has transformed these internal changes into a matter of substantial political and institutional weight.
The political suspicion stems from the timing of several factors. First, Fernández’s departure became known shortly after the judge in the Plus Ultra case offered the Finance Ministry the chance to appear as a possible injured party over the jewellery seized from the office of former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, valued at €1.3 million, according to information published by The Objective.
Second, the People’s Party broadened the Senate investigation committee’s work plan on SEPI and called Soledad Fernández to testify on July 13 to clarify the tax authority’s stance. According to the PP, her exit is meant to sidestep or sway that appearance, though it has also insisted that she must testify even if she leaves her post.
Third, the departures would not affect only the director general, but also two key departments: Collection and Inspection, areas directly linked to the Tax Agency’s ability to collect debts, investigate possible fraud and appear or act in proceedings with tax implications. This coincidence has fueled the interpretation of a “mass resignation” or a crisis at the top of the agency.
