The president of the Eulen group, María José Álvarez, has been assaulted by two armed men while driving through Madrid at dawn this Monday.
Two men pointed their guns at the vehicle in which the businesswoman was traveling and that her escort was driving.
The bodyguard fired at the attackers before they fled the scene, and neither the woman nor the guard sustained any injuries.
The Police suspect that it is about thieves who "intended to steal the high-end vehicle" in which the businesswoman was traveling.
And the investigators reject that the objective was to attack the owner of the Vega Sicilia wine empire, whose prestigious vineyards are located in Valbuena del Duero (Valladolid) and where a family schism and a tough battle for succession broke out years ago after the death of patriarch David Álvarez.
The ambush occurred shortly before two in the morning last Monday on José Bastos street, in the Madrid district of Moncloa-Aravaca, according to sources close to the investigation.
A private escort was driving the businesswoman's car, a Mercedes Benz AMG, when it was intercepted from the front by another car, a Renault Scénic minivan.
Police sources assure, however, that the businesswoman has not yet filed the corresponding complaint.
According to the same sources, two armed men got out of the Renault minivan and pointed the gun at the car of the president of this company that provides socio-sanitary and cleaning services.
Meanwhile, another car cut behind the passage of the Mercedes.
At that moment, the escort fired three shots with his weapon and immediately the cars of the alleged assailants fled the scene.
The businesswoman's bodyguard also carried out a sudden maneuver and the vehicle hit a lamppost.
The health services treated María José Álvarez from the severe shock suffered on her right side and due to an anxiety crisis.
The guard did not suffer any injuries.
The police are reviewing the traffic and security cameras located at the scene of the assault and at the entrances.
The police suspect that, regardless of the motive, the assault had been planned, since the car of the president of Eulen was intercepted by separate vehicles in front and behind.
Eulen is a multi-service company, from cleaning to security, which has more than 7,000 clients in 14 countries and more than 75,000 employees.
In 2020 it had sales of more than 1,400 million euros, according to the data provided by the company on its website.
The main businesses it has, both in Spain and abroad, are cleaning, security, social and health services, temporary work, maintenance of facilities and the environment.
It also offers maintenance, gardening, logistics and
telemarketing services,
among others.
The company manages security controls at more than twenty Spanish airports.
The company was founded by the Leonese businessman David Álvarez Díez in 1962, when he established Central de Limpiezas El Sol. Eulen grew rapidly and expanded the services it offered.
After the death of David Álvarez, his sons fought to gain control of the company.
The patriarch, in the last years of his life, left the company in the hands of his daughter María José Álvarez, who has the majority of the capital.
María José Álvarez is a minority shareholder of El Enebro, a company that is currently the direct owner of Vega Sicilia.
In turn, El Enebro is 84% controlled by the company Mezqual Ibérica, which is made up of five of the Álvarez Mezquíriz brothers, sons of the late founder of Eulen.
She is also a 39.24% shareholder of Eulen, the service company chaired by María José Álvarez, her father's favorite and in conflict with the other five siblings for more than a decade.
At the end of October, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an appeal filed precisely by María José, a brother of hers, and her father (who died during the processing of the lawsuit) for a family dispute regarding Bodegas Vega Sicilia.
Specifically, the Supreme Court ruled against the shareholders' meeting of Vega Sicilia in 2013, considering that its decisions constituted an abuse of rights against the founder because the partners managed to get El Enebro to stop controlling the winery.
The president of Eulen sided with the founder, while at the shareholders' meeting and on the opposite side were five other children of David Álvarez.