The National Court of Spain has sentenced retired police commissioner José Manuel Villarejo to eight years in prison for revealing secrets, alongside a six-year prison term for his associate Rafael Redondo.

The ruling stems from their involvement in the so-called 'Wine Project', wherein the two conducted unauthorized surveillance for the corporations Repsol and La Caixa.

The court found Villarejo and Redondo guilty of four counts of accessing private communications without consent but acquitted former security heads of the companies and a former executive of Repsol of relevant charges.

The court's decision indicates that the project, allegedly initiated to gather intelligence against an initiative by Sacyr to secure significant shares in Repsol in 2011, involved no evidence of bribery or forgery.

Specifically, the court ruled that the activities in question did not aim to undermine public administration for personal gain, but rather pursued private interests related to a business investigation.

The prosecution had argued that in August 2011, Sacyr, headed by Luis del Rivero, entered into an agreement with the Mexican firm Pemex allowing them to consolidate voting rights in Repsol, effectively enabling them to control nearly a third of the company.

The Spanish Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office alleged that the highest executives of Repsol employed various measures, including illicit information gathering, to counter this attempted acquisition.

The trial proceedings entailed a demand for lengthy prison sentences: 40.5 years for Villarejo, 32.5 years for Redondo, 21 years for Repsol's security deputy Rafael Girona, 28 years for Rafael Araujo, and 21 years for Miguel Ángel Fernández Rancaño. However, the judges explained that no bribery occurred as the actions analyzed did not align with a public interest framework.

They noted that despite Villarejo's former position, he acted independently and outside the jurisdiction of the civil service.

The judgement further highlighted that Villarejo was essentially conducting private business through his own company, CENYT, and engaged in activities that lacked any lawful police-related function.

It stated that his actions were characterized as entirely private dealings, void of police oversight or the use of public resources.

As for the illicit access to telecommunications data, the court confirmed that Villarejo and Redondo obtained this information unlawfully.

The ruling stated that although Girona, Araujo, and Fernández Rancaño were exonerated of secret discovery charges, both Villarejo and Redondo acted in an illegitimate manner concerning the private communication records of involved parties.

Bribery has remained a focal point in the ongoing investigations surrounding Villarejo, with the prosecution persistently pushing for convictions on various counts of corruption.

Earlier trials regarding different components of the Villarejo case have seen inconsistent outcomes, as some judges have previously dismissed similar charges in relation to his conduct, despite one court recently confirming a separate conviction for passive bribery against Villarejo.