Princess Cristina of Spain was named as a formal suspect in long-running corruption investigation on Tuesday in the latest blow to the reputation of the royal family.
The 48-year-old was summoned to testify in court in Palma de Mallorca on March 8 on allegations of tax evasion and money laundering offences by a judge investigation a far reaching embezzlement case centering on her husband Inaki Urdangarin.
It will be the first time that a royal-born member of Spain’s ruling Bourbons is called to testify in court and promises further strife for a monarchy struggling against a tide of unpopularity.
King Juan Carlos, who has been weakened by ill heath and appeared in public for the first time on Monday since undergoing hip surgery two months ago, has seen his popularity plummet in the polls.
A survey published at the weekend by El Mundo showed 62 per cent of respondents thought the monarch, who turned 76 on Sunday, should abdicate in favour of his son, Crown Price Felipe.
Princess Cristina’s husband is a former Olympic handball champion who was given the title of the Duke of Palma upon his marriage to the King’s youngest daughter in 1997.
He is accused with his former business partner Diego Torres of using his royal connections and embezzling some six million euros in public funds channeled through the Noos Institute, a not-for-profit organisation that organised sporting events.
It is the second attempt by investigating magistrate Jose Castro to implicate Princess Cristina in the probe which has now been running for nearly two years.
Last April, Princess Cristina was ordered to appear in court but the decision was overturned by a senior judge on appeal by the prosecutor who argued that there was insufficient evidence to suggest that she was involved in her husband’s business affairs.
The latest legal move against the princess alleges that she may have violated financial laws and evaded tax on earnings connected to Aizoon, a private company jointly owned by the princess and her husband through which illicit funds may have been funneled.
Some of the allegations relate to the mansion the couple owned in the upmarket Pedralbes district of Barcelona. The property was seized by the courts in November after the Duke of Palma failed to post a six million euro bond to cover liability in the case.
In a 227-page decree the judge said there was evidence to suggest that she may be implicated in financial crimes and to show that “all are equal before the law”.
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