Spain's Princess Cristina in fraud trial

Updated
Spain Royal Corruption
Spain Royal Corruption



Princess Cristina of Spain has become the first member of the Spanish royal family to face trial. The 50-year-old is accused of being an accomplice to tax fraud, in an alleged embezzlement plot involving her husband Inaki Urdangarin and 16 others. They all deny the charges.

The charges relate to Urdangarin's non-profit sports foundation, the Noos Institute, which is alleged to have billed some conferences and events at an unusually high rate. The allegations claim that some of the money then went to a real estate firm, which paid for personal expenses for the royal couple.

The trial in Palma, Majorca, has only just begun, and Princess Cristina's lawyers will argue that the charges against her should be dismissed, because this is a private prosecution brought by a trade union, and is not supported by public prosecutors. Her lawyer said he was confident she would not have to go through with the trial.

The fact that the woman who is sixth in line to the throne is appearing in court is an embarrassment for the royals. She was stripped of the title of Duchess of Palma by the King last year when it emerged that she would become the first royal family member to face criminal charges since the restoration of the monarchy in 1975.
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Excess

The fact that her husband is on trial, however, means her home life will be under scrutiny regardless, which is unlikely to impress a Spanish public still reeling from the financial crisis.

The Spanish royal family has been working hard to play down accusations of lavish overspending since King Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son Felipe in 2014.

Juan Carlos hadn't done the Royal reputation for excess much good in 2012, when at the depths of the Spanish recession it emerged he had broken his hip on an elephant hunt in Africa.

Since then King Felipe VI has done everything possible to improve the family's reputation for spending. He has cut his own salary by 20% to 234,204 euros. The Spanish royal family now costs just a quarter of the amount the most expensive royal family in Europe costs (the Dutch), and the royals have an estimated private fortune of just £3.2 million - which puts them closest to the top of the list of cash-strapped royal families.

Felipe has also prohibited royal family members from receiving expensive gifts - including free flights - and opened their finances to more scrutiny. He has done everything he can to distance the wider royal family from this scandal, and must be dreading the details of Princess Cristina's spending that could be revealed by the case.

Spain's Princess Cristina to Face Unprecedented Fraud Trial
Spain's Princess Cristina to Face Unprecedented Fraud Trial

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