José María Ruiz-Mateos Sociedad Anónima (Rumasa) was a
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
founded by Spanish entrepreneur
José María Ruiz Mateos
José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ).
In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...
and
expropriated
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
by the Spanish government on February 23, 1983.
In 1982 Rumasa constituted 2% of the Spanish
GDP
The 700 different businesses with 65000 employees forming the holding, from banks to hotels, were partitioned and reprivatizated.
Ruiz Mateos fled the country days after the expropriation and was later jailed in Spain. The expropriation was ruled constitutional by the
Spanish Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court ( es, Tribunal Constitucional) is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spa ...
in 1986. Ruíz Mateos was
acquitted
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
by the
Spanish Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ('', TS'') is the highest court in the Kingdom of Spain. Originally established pursuant to Title V of the Constitution of 1812 to replace —in all matters that affected justice— the System of Councils, and currently regula ...
in 1999, though he has never been compensated by the Spanish state.
Ruiz Mateos later founded ''"Nueva Rumasa"'' ("New Rumasa
, which filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after issuing a series of highly controversial
IOU, IOU'sbr>
References
Real Decreto-Ley 2/1983 de 23 de febrero, de expropiación, por razones de utilidad pública e interés social, de los bancos y otras sociedades que componen el grupo "RUMASA, S. A."
Sentencia 111/1983 de 2/12/1983, del pleno del Tribunal Constitucional de España, desestimando el recurso de inconstitucionalidad núm. 116/1983, promovido por José María Ruiz Gallardón, como representante y comisionado de cincuenta y cuatro Diputados más, contra el Real Decreto-ley 2/1983.
Sentencia 6/1991 de 15 de enero, del pleno del Tribunal Constitucional de España, en la cuestión de inconstitucionalidad 1628/1989, en relación con los articulos 1 y 2 de la ley 7/1983, de 29 de junio, sobre expropiación por razones de utilidad pública e interés social de los bancos y otras sociedades que componen el "grupo RUMASA, Sociedad Anonima".
web de noticias útiles para los inversores de Nueva Rumasa
Artículo de Cinco Días* Ramón Tamames. ''La economía española : 1975-1995''
* ''La colmena'', revista interna del grupo Rumasa.
{{Authority control
Defunct companies of Spain
1983 disestablishments in Spain