12/23/2014
PALMA DE MAJORCA, Spain – A Spanish judge ruled Monday that Princess Cristina, the older sister of Spain’s King Felipe VI, is to be tried on two cases of tax fraud also involving her husband in the first such case against a member of the country’s royal family.
In his decision, Judge Jose Castro confirmed a ruling made last month by judges that there was sufficient evidence to charge Cristina, 49, with two counts of tax fraud.
The so-called “Noos Case” involves the embezzlement of some 6.1 million euros ($7.5 million) from the non-profit Noos Institute of which Cristina’s husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, was president and she sat on its board.
The couple set up another entity, the Aizoon company, which allegedly siphoned off 50 percent of the embezzled funds, constituting an act of fraud against the Spanish treasury.
A rightist anti-corruption group called Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) brought the original complaint against Cristina at a court in Palma de Majorca, and demanded an eight-year prison sentence if she were found guilty.
A public prosecutor in charge of the case, Pedro Horrach, had argued that the charges be dropped due to insufficient evidence and that the princess was being unfairly hounded because of public pressure.
Along with Cristina, 16 others linked to the alleged corruption are to stand trial, including her husband, business partner Diego Torres and his wife, and Jaume Matas, who was a minister in the government of former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar.
The Noos Case follows a string of high-level corruption cases involving senior Spanish politicians over the past several years.
source
PALMA DE MAJORCA, Spain – A Spanish judge ruled Monday that Princess Cristina, the older sister of Spain’s King Felipe VI, is to be tried on two cases of tax fraud also involving her husband in the first such case against a member of the country’s royal family.In his decision, Judge Jose Castro confirmed a ruling made last month by judges that there was sufficient evidence to charge Cristina, 49, with two counts of tax fraud.
The so-called “Noos Case” involves the embezzlement of some 6.1 million euros ($7.5 million) from the non-profit Noos Institute of which Cristina’s husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, was president and she sat on its board.
The couple set up another entity, the Aizoon company, which allegedly siphoned off 50 percent of the embezzled funds, constituting an act of fraud against the Spanish treasury.
A rightist anti-corruption group called Manos Limpias (Clean Hands) brought the original complaint against Cristina at a court in Palma de Majorca, and demanded an eight-year prison sentence if she were found guilty.
A public prosecutor in charge of the case, Pedro Horrach, had argued that the charges be dropped due to insufficient evidence and that the princess was being unfairly hounded because of public pressure.
Along with Cristina, 16 others linked to the alleged corruption are to stand trial, including her husband, business partner Diego Torres and his wife, and Jaume Matas, who was a minister in the government of former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar.
The Noos Case follows a string of high-level corruption cases involving senior Spanish politicians over the past several years.
source
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