THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Princess Cristina, the youngest daughter of Spain’s King Juan Carlos, has been named a suspect in a far-reaching corruption probe centring on her husband, dealing a huge blow to the prestige of the Spanish royal family.
The 47-year old princess, who is seventh in line to the Spanish throne, has been ordered to testify on April 27 at a court in Palma de Mallorca on suspicion of influence peddling, judicial sources said.
She will face accusations that she cooperated in the business dealings of her husband Inaki Urdangarin while he was head of the not-for-profit Noos Institute, through which he is alleged to have embezzled 6 million euros of public funds.
She was a member of the board of the Noos Institute between 2004-2006, through which Urdangarin won public contracts to stage sporting and tourism events. She also co-owned one of the private companies which her husband allegedly used to divert funds.
The Duke of Palma had sought to protect his wife, insisting in statements to the court that she had been involved in name only and had no knowledge of day to day dealings of his companies.
But emails released to the court by his estranged business partner Diego Torres, who is also accused of embezzlement and money laundering, purportedly showed that she had been regularly consulted.
Investigating Judge Jose Castro, who had previously rejected prosecution requests to indict Princess Cristina, said Wednesday that fresh evidence suggested that she was aware that her husband used her name and status in dealings from which they both benefitted.
He said that she would have to be questioned for the probe to be complete and to show that “justice treats all equally”. » | Agence France-Presse in Madrid | Wednesday, April 03, 2013
