Vodafone dismissed Portela unfairly, says Spanish court

Rosalía Portela

A Spanish court has ruled that Vodafone’s dismissal of former Ono CEO Rosalía Portela was unjustified and has ordered the telco to indemnify the executive, according to local reports.

Vodafone dismissed Portela, aloing with former chief financial officer Carlos Sagasta, after alleging that the pair had misled it ahead of its purchase of the cable operator. Portela and Sagasta had been contracted to stay on after the purchase to assist with the integration fo the two groups.

Vodafone alleged that Portela, Sagasta and former Ono president José Maria Castellano had withheld information relating the payment of VAT on international traffic and refused to pay bonuses amounting to €65 million to the trio.

The three executives have filed legal claims for the money they say is owed to them and Portela additionally filed a complaing alleging Vodafone had damaged her reputation. Vodafone launched its own action against Portela and Sagasta in April.