Smiling under the gaze of the world’s media, Spanish King Juan Carlos’ daughter, Cristina, faced a judge yesterday as a corruption suspect, in an unprecedented blow to the royals.
A Spanish judge started questioning her over accusations that she was complicit in tax-dodging and laundering allegedly embezzled money — claims that have plunged the monarchy into crisis.
The blonde 48-year-old princess stepped out of a car and walked into a court in Palma on the holiday island of Majorca, nodding to television crews, photographers and reporters crowded near the door.
Photo: Reuters
Dressed in a white shirt and black jacket, the princess appeared relaxed as she headed into the closed-door hearing with a judge who suspects her of tax fraud and money laundering.
“She is calm,” one of her lawyers, Jesus Maria Silva, told reporters.
Scores of pro-republican protesters rallied nearby, held back by Spanish police barriers.
They brandished red, yellow and purple republican flags and banners with slogans such as “Royal blood = unreal justice” or “Heads of state by the ballot, not the cradle.”
The hearing follows more than two years of rising anger against the elite in a Spain dented by recession.
“It seems the privileges they have aren’t enough for them — they have to do something that really annoys the people,” said Mateo Castellanos, 61, who traveled hundreds of kilometers from the mainland to protest.
“A large part of the country is suffering hardship and a lot of people don’t have enough to feed their children,” he said.
The spectacle unfolded on a warm winter’s day under blue skies, on an island where for decades Cristina’s family sunbathed and sailed yachts in carefree summers.
Now the island is the center of an embarrassing scandal that has turned much of the public against the royals and raised doubts over the very future of the monarchy.
Minutes after Cristina’s arrival, investigating judge Jose Castro began questioning her in a courtroom overlooked by a portrait of her own father, Juan Carlos, 76.
Long thought untouchable as a royal, Cristina finds herself in the centre of the scandal, accused of being complicit in allegedly fraudulent business dealings of her husband, who is also under investigation.
Neither Cristina nor her husband, former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin, have been formally charged with any crime and both deny wrongdoing.
Castro has spent more than two years investigating allegations that Urdangarin and a former business partner embezzled 6 million euros (US$8 million) in public funds via a charitable foundation.
Cristina was a member of the foundation’s board and with her husband jointly owned another company, Aizoon, which investigators suspect served as a front for laundering embezzled money.
Spanish state prosecutors say there is no case to answer against Cristina, but the judge has admitted suits brought by pressure groups.
“This is an unprecedented case,” said Virginia Lopez, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs, the far-right pressure group Manos Limpias. “I hope justice will be done.”
It is the first time a direct member of the royal family has ever gone to court as a suspect.
Juan Carlos won widespread respect for helping steer Spain to democracy after the death of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
Yet the royals’ popularity has plunged since the case against Urdangarin opened three years ago.
The king’s woes were worsened by a luxury elephant-hunting trip he made to Africa in 2012, as his subjects suffered in a recession.
These scandals and the sight of the king looking frail on crutches in his rare public appearances have raised debate about the future of his reign.
A recent poll showed 62 percent of Spaniards in favour of his abdication. Support for the monarchy in general fell to just under half.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was