Spain’s Princess Cristina appears to be one step closer to having to appear before a judge.
The high court in Palma de Mallorca upheld tax fraud charges against her, but dropped money-laundering charges as part of an investigation into the business dealings of her husband Inaki Urdangarin.
Judges have been investigating allegations that Urdangarin embezzled millions in public funds with a former business partner and that the princess had knowingly benefited from the dealings.
Mr Urdangarin stands accused with 15 others of embezzling €5.6m of public money from the Noos Institute, a charitable sports foundation that Mr Unrdangarin used to head.
Between 2004 and 2006, the institute organised a series of sporting events for the regional governments of the Balearic Islands and Valencia.
The central allegation is that Mr Urdangarin, along with business partner Diego Torres, hugely overcharged the two regional governments.
He has been charged with breach of legal duty, embezzling public funds, fraud, influence-peddling and money-laundering.
Princess Cristina is the sister of the newly-crowned King Felipe VI. Their father, Juan Carlos, abdicated earlier this year in a surprise move which has helped save the monarchy’s popularity after a series of scandals.
Corruption has dominated Spanish headlines recently following investigations which revealed high-level corruption across the country involving bankers, politicians, mayors, trade unions.
Late last month, 51 people, including six current mayors, were arrested on bribery and embezzlement charges. Another 86 politicians and bankers are under investigation over alleged misuse of company credit cards worth €15 million for a gamut of items from groceries to safaris.
The coverage led to Prime Minister Rajoy offerin an unprecedented apology last week for the corruption scandals affecting members of his People’s party.
“I apologise in the name of the PP to all Spaniards for having appointed people to positions who weren’t worthy of them and who seem to have taken advantage of them,” Rajoy told the senate. He pledged to do more to clean up Spanish politics.
Comments
We should stop blaming Brussels for everything. If the EU club was run entirely on scandinavian / north european (protestant - so no priesthood) lines - so no concept of a higher level / elite special people .... it would be functioning well.
What screws the EU up is the less developed south european mentality that STILL accepts that special people should get special treatment. Just as their priesthood does.
The EU sends southwards one law. No special 'get outs'.
Implementation immediately gets delayed whilst the bits to apply and the bits to shelve are decided. Yet - all this 'should' have been decided at committee stages ! But the southerners did not admit then which bits of a new law they 'could not politically' implement. As too limiting to their elite.
Witness all these south european 'investigations' not actually finally criminalising any biggie for breaking a law. Maybe their secretary, gardener or chauffeur gets done - but not the elite !
Well done the Timorese for spotting this !
I think that Rajoy, like Passos Coelho, has limited room for manoeuvre. He is the puppet. The oily bureaucrats in Brussels are the puppeteers.