The Guardia Civil has released a video of the arrest in Olhão, Algarve, of Natalio Grueso, the former director of the Centro Cultural Internacional Óscar Niemeyer, who had been on the run after being sentenced to eight years in prison for crimes of embezzlement and forgery.
In the images shared on social media by the Spanish authorities yesterday, Thursday, December 11, the suspect can be seen in a café, wearing a dark blue sweater.
At one point, he is seen on a terrace, at a computer, drinking what appears to be a glass of wine.
Later, in another sequence of images, a car appears to be chasing another on a street in Olhão.
The suspect appears again later, now in a green coat, being escorted by members of the Guardia Civil and the Polícia Judiciária (PJ), which announced the arrest in a statement sent to the newsrooms yesterday.
PJ inspectors arrested in Olhão, Algarve, a man internationally sought for fleeing Spain after being sentenced to 8 years in prison for embezzlement and forgery. The suspect is the “central figure” of the “Niemeyer case.”
Natacha Nunes Costa | 09:19 – 11/12/2025
Despite appearing with a blurred face, Natalio Grueso seems unrecognizable in the images shared by the authorities. Visibly thinner and downcast, corresponding to the description by the Spanish press.
According to La Voz de Asturias, the former cultural manager, arrested last week after spending more than two years on the run from Spanish justice and under an international arrest warrant, had adopted a demeanor in the fishing village of Olhão that was very different from his attitude in Spain before being sentenced to eight years in prison for misappropriating funds from the Óscar Niemeyer institution for his own benefit as well as that of family and friends.
In the Algarve, Natalio Grueso went practically unnoticed. He was “discreet” and walked with his “head down.” According to his lawyer, he is even said to be ill.
According to the same newspaper, for now, the criminal is detained in Portugal. On Monday, December 15, he will be transferred to Madrid, Spain, to begin serving his prison sentence.
Spanish justice has proven that Natalio Grueso, who was general director of the Niemeyer Foundation in Avilés, Spain, between 2006 and 2011, incurred expenses unrelated to the cultural institution’s objectives throughout his tenure, “using its funds for his own benefit, as well as for the benefit of family, friends, and others in his circle as if they were his property.”
Friend of Woody Allen and Kevin Spacey
Natalio Grueso© Quim Llenas/Getty Images
Contrary to his image in Portugal, before being sentenced, Natalio Grueso always appeared to be a confident, influential person with well-known friends to the public.
According to El País, Natalio Grueso mingled with Hollywood stars like Woody Allen and Kevin Spacey, as well as renowned writers like Mario Vargas Llosa or Paulo Coelho, who even wrote dedications for him in their books.
Natalio Grueso, former director of the Centro Cultural Internacional Óscar Niemeyer in Avilés, Spain, was arrested in Olhão, Algarve, by the PJ. He had been on the run for two years and was sought not only by the neighboring country but also by international authorities.
Natacha Nunes Costa | 11:06 – 11/12/2025
The criminal was born in Oviedo in 1970. He graduated in Law but directed his professional career towards cultural management and international relations, leading various projects and institutions.
He was Director of External Inter-regional Cooperation Projects within the European Commission’s Ecos and Overture programs. He was hired by the Prince of Asturias Foundation in the early 2000s.
At one point, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he met one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer, winner of the Prince of Asturias Awards in Arts in 1989.
The artist eventually donated the project for what would be his only work in Spain, the Niemeyer Center. It was in that same year that he was appointed director, a position he held until 2011, and from which he is said to have committed the crimes for which he was eventually convicted and will now serve eight years in prison.
