Princess suspected of embezzling, money laundering
KING Felipe VI was yesterday embroiled in a crisis less than a week after succeeding to the Spanish throne when his elder sister was told she was likely to face trial on charges of tax fraud and money laundering.
Princess Cristina, 49, was told she was a formal suspect in a 167-page ruling issued by a court in Palma, Majorca, following a three-year investigation.
She has one final appeal before charges are laid and a court appearance is confirmed. If convicted, she could face up to 11 years in prison.
Unveiling his report, Judge Jose Castro said the princess’ husband, Inaki Urdangarin, 46, who is the duke of Palma, faced up to nine charges relating to allegations of embezzlement and fraud.
The judge’s ruling will be a highly unwelcome reminder for the king of the corruption scandals that badly damaged the monarchy and helped to force the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos, 76, earlier this month.
The princess and Urdangarin, a former Olympic handball player, deny wrongdoing. However, the ruling brings closer the possibility of an unprecedented trial involving a direct member of the royal family.
The case revolves around allegations that Urdangarin and a for- mer business partner used a nonprofit sporting organisation called Institute Noos to embezzle 5.8 million of public money, then siphoned it into offshore accounts.
Cristina was a director of Institute Noos and half owner of another company, Aizoon, which prosecutors suspect was used to launder money.
The judge said there was evidence that the couple paid for dozens of personal items, from Harry Potter books to a trip to Rio de Janeiro, from funds from Aizoon.
‘‘Everything indicates that Dona Cristina de Bourbon y Grecia was an active participant in organising and budgeting these events which were clearly of a personal nature,’’ the judge said. Lawyers for the couple, who have four children and live in Geneva, where Cristina works for La Caixa bank, said they would appeal.
‘‘The basis of this appeal is that there is no crime. There is no evidence of crime, and that is the same thing that the tax office and the prosecutor say,’’ said Miquel Roca, the princess’s lawyer.
Pedro Horrach, the state prosecutor, said he would also appeal, saying that Cristina was being pursued legally ‘‘for who she is, not for what she has done’’.
The princess made history in February when she became the first member of the Spanish royal family to appear in court as a suspect in a criminal case. She can appeal to block her summons. A trial is likely next year.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia, 41, face another crisis today when they travel to Girona, a city in Catalonia which says the royal family does not represent it.
The king will also meet Artur Mas, the Catalan regional leader, who wants to stage a referendum on independence for the region in November, despite opposition from the Spanish Government, which says that such a vote is illegal.