Ekip
12 January 2016•Update: 12 January 2016
By Alyssa McMurtry
MADRID
The sister of Spain’s King Felipe VI sat solemnly through the first day of her tax fraud trial on Monday as her lawyers argued for the charges to be dropped.
Cristina de Borbon attended a 13-hour court session that ended late Monday in La Palma on the Mediterranean island of Majorca.
Sitting at the back of the makeshift courtroom alongside 17 other defendants, Cristina showed no sign of emotion during the marathon hearing.
Beside her was her husband Inaki Urdangarin, former politicians and figures from the world of business who are accused of collaborating with Urdangarin’s non-profit Noos Institute to siphon off around 6.2 million euros ($6.7 million) in public funds.
The case marks the first time in Spain that a member of the royal family has stood trial. Cristina, 50, is charged with tax fraud and could receive up to eight years in prison. It is alleged that she was a “necessary collaborator” in the case.
Urdangarin, a former Olympic handball player, faces 19 years in prison if convicted on charges of embezzlement, influence peddling, document falsification, money laundering, forgery, breach of official duty and tax fraud.
He is said to have embezzled millions in public funds by having corrupt regional governments overpay the Noos Institute, which Urdangarin chaired between 2004 and 2006, for sporting events and funnel that money into private bank accounts.
The couple allegedly used the money and a front company Aizoon to fund their lavish lifestyle and dodge taxes. Cristina partly ran Aizoon and allegedly paid for personal purchases like dance lessons or clothing on the company’s credit card, later claiming the purchases as tax deductions.
On Monday, Cristina’s lawyer argued charges against her should be dropped because she is not accused of direct involvement in the case. State prosecutors have not officially accused Cristina of anything. Instead, the Manos Limpias anti-corruption association has made allegations.
Her lawyer’s argument was also supported by prosecutors on Monday.
Cristina and her husband deny any wrongdoing. She first testified to a judge in a six-hour closed meeting in February 2014, saying “I don’t know” 182 times and “I don’t remember” 55 times, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.
The case has come as an embarrassment to the royal family and is seen as a likely factor in King Juan Carlos’ abdication in June 2014. Shortly after his coronation, Felipe stripped his sister of her title.
Diego Torres, Urdangarin’s former business partner who is also accused, claimed Sunday the royal family was aware of the alleged corruption. “The royal household was informed, knew about it, oversaw it and on some occasions even collaborated,” he said in an interview with the broadcaster La Sexta.
Torres’ lawyer on Monday called for the former king and his friend Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein to testify. The court rejected the request, calling their testimony “irrelevant”.
The court will reconvene on Feb. 9. Prosecutors may drop charges or accept plea bargains during the interim and a decision on the charges against Cristina is due by then.
