As the Spanish newspaper Mundo reported on Monday, a Spanish judge has ruled that the sister of King Felipe VI and the daughter of the former head of state, Princess Cristina, should face graft charges.
The paper reports that the Infanta Cristina will be summonsed to court this week to face charges of money laundering and cooperation in the fiscal crimes allegedly committed by her husband in 2007 and 2008.
The judge said Cristina is suspected of two counts of cooperation in tax fraud and one of money-laundering through Aizoon jointly owned by the princess and her husband. The judge said her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, is accused of embezzlement and fraud. If she is found guilty, she could face up to 11 years in prison – 6 years, for money-laundering and another 5 for fiscal fraud.
Spain’s Attorney General is preparing to fight the royal summons. If her husband declares himself solely guilty, Cristina could yet be spared from the charges.
Urdangarin is suspected under another case in which it is alleged that Urdangarin embezzled public funds via the Noos Institute, a charitable foundation he chaired. The institute received donations from public organizations that Urdangarin misused.
Cristina is accused of cooperation in the fiscal crimes allegedly committed by her husband in 2007 and 2008 when he embezzled 182,000 and 155,000 euros, respectively.
It is not the first time when the Infanta is going to appear in court. In February, she had already been questioned. Then the younger daughter said she had signed all documents which her husband asked to as she had trusted him.
Also she was questioned about 1.2 million euros which her father had given her as a loan to buy a house. She said they did not sign any official documents as it was an agreement between a parent and his child.
Cristina and her husband Inaki Urdangarin were barred from any official royal activity back in 2011. Their profiles were deleted from the official web page of the Royal family. They did not attend any events devoted to Felipe VI succeeding to the throne on the abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos I.