The chairman of ScottishPower earned over £11million last year despite facing a fraud and bribery investigation, the Sunday Mail can reveal.
Ignacio Galan took home the massive package as millions of customers face being plunged into poverty by r ocketing fuel costs.
Galan, who is the CEO of ScottishPower parent company Iberdrola, appeared before Spain’s High Court in relation to allegations he spied on the chairman of football club Real Madrid.
He gave testimony behind closed doors over whether Iberdrola hired police chief turned private detective Jose Manuel Villarejo.
It was alleged he breached the privacy of Real Madrid’s Florentino Perez when his construction company ACS was fighting for a seat on Iberdrola’s board in 2009.
The court closed the case in June without further action. However, it can be reopened on appeal.
Scottish Liberal Democrat business and finance spokesman John Ferry said: “As millions suffer in a cost-of-living emergency, it continues to beggar belief that energy executives can get away with eye-watering salaries, especially amid reports of fraud, bribery and spying.
“The No1 priority should be to support hard-pressed Scottish households to bring down bills and kickstart an emergency insulation programme to boost energy efficiency.”
While ScottishPower has its own CEO, Keith Anderson, believed to earn over £1million, Galan is the ultimate boss and chairman.
His £11.2million pay increased eight per cent last year and is about 171 times higher than the average
salary at the company he leads.
Galan – who was photographed with Nicola Sturgeon at COP26 – hit the headlines in Spain after claiming that high electricity prices there were only a problem for 10million “fools” who have fixed-price contracts.
He said: “Only fools continue to use the regulated price set by the government”.
Activists held a demonstration outside the energy firm’s headquarters in Glasgow’s St Vincent Street earlier this month to protest against soaring bills forecast to top £4000 a year in January.
It is feared four million Scots could be plunged into fuel poverty within months, with inflation of 13 per cent also decimating incomes.
Glasgow councillor Matt Kerr said: “While we see billions of pounds of profit being made by the wholesale companies, there’s a catastrophe waiting for our communities and we need to do something about it.”
Electricity prices have been surging for almost a year, with the war in Ukraine believed to be the main driver as Putin cuts gas supplies to Europe.
Despite the crisis, the heads of Britain’s big five energy providers have been raking in eye watering pay.
British Gas owner Centrica’s CEO Chris O’Shea is waiving his £1.1million bonus this year but will still take his £775,000 salary.
Perth-based SSE boss Alistair Phillips-Davies was handed a 47 per cent hike in his pay package last year as consumers saw bills rocket. The chief executive was paid salary and benefits of £4.5million, driven by a bumper bonus.
EDF boss Simone Rossi is believed to earn around £1million a year.
E.ON and Npower CEO Leonhard Birnbaum, meanwhile, is understood to have earned £2,547,481 in 2020.
A spokeswoman for ScottishPower said: “Mr Galan has over 20 years’ service, leading Iberdrola to be the largest electricity utility in Europe and one of the top five power companies in the world.
“His management has been consistently backed year after year by an overwhelming majority of shareholders – 98 per cent in 2022.
“He has also been designated best CEO of the utility industry in Europe several times by leading institutions as institutional investor.
“He has been selected among the five best CEOs in the world by Harvard Business Review.
“The company has always maintained no wrongdoing in relation to this case.
“After having put all the resources and the top managers of the company at the disposal of the courts, today neither the company nor Mr Galan or any employee of Iberdrola is under investigation in relation with this case.”
A report published by experts at York University last week predicted four million Scottish people will be plunged into fuel poverty by January. Three-quarters of households are expected to struggle to make ends meet if the price cap is raised by the UK Government in October and January.
Annual bills are forecast to top £4200 from early 2023.
The consultancy Cornwall Insight said bills could then rise to £4426 in April before easing.
Due to the colder climate and poorly insulated homes north of the Border, the impact of rising
prices will be even worse in Scotland.
By comparison, predicted fuel poverty figures for London are 56 per cent and 58 per cent in the south-east of England.
Fuel poverty is defined as any household spending more than 10 per cent of their income on energy after housing costs have been deducted.
Consumer champion Martin Lewis called the forecast “tragic” and urged the “zombie Government” to come up with an immediate action plan.
But Conservative leadership front-runner Liz Truss has defended earnings at energy companies, saying profits should not be considered “dirty and evil”.
Labour has announced plans for the energy price cap to be frozen at the current level, meaning that the expected rises in October and January would not go ahead.
Leader Keir Starmer has said the £29billion scheme would keep the cap at £1971.
He insisted that Labour “wouldn’t let people pay a penny more” on their winter fuel bills.
There are fears increasing bills could also push thousands of firms out of business, sparking unemployment, and also force swimming pools, libraries and other public buildings to close.
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