OVER five years of investigations later, the infamous Nóos Institute fraud trial has begun in the court of Palma de Mallorca – and will make history when it sees the first-ever member of the Royal family appear in the dock.
King Felipe VI's youngest sister, the Infanta Cristina (pictured right) and her husband Iñaki Urdangarín (pictured left) – stripped of their titles of Duke and Duchess of Palma by the King himself over their alleged involvement in the scandal – are among 18 suspects who will be cross-examined in front of 590 reporters.
They include former Balearic Island regional president and ex-environment minister for the national government, Jaume Matas, who has recently handed over his mansion to the tax authorities to mitigate his liabilities, along with former deputy mayor of Valencia city, Alfonso Grau (PP), former director-general for sports for the Balearic Islands José Luis 'Pepote' Ballester, and Mercedes Coghen, ex-manager of the Madrid 2016 Olympic bid.
Urdangarín's co-director of the Nóos Institute, Diego Torres, his wife Ana María Tejeiro and brother-in-law Miguel Tejeiro, plus the firm's appointed accountant Salvador Trinxet are also among those on trial.
Among the 363 witnesses will be former justice minister and ex-mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, former Valencia regional president Francisco Camps, ex-mayoress of Valencia Rita Barberá, disgraced former economy minister Rodrigo Rato – on trial separately for tax evasion – former regional minister for Valencia Esteban González Pons, and ex-secretary of State for sports Jaime Lissavetzky, all of whom are on the PP party.
Other witnesses include former head of the Royal household Alberto Aza, who will testify on March 11 along with Rato, and the ex-secretary of the Infantas Cristina and Elena, Carlos García Revenga, on April 20.
Sra Barberá will testify on April 12, followed by González Pons on April 14 and, the next day, Francisco Camps, whilst Ruiz-Gallardón and Lissavetzky will give statements on May 13.
The trial will take five-and-a-half months and documentary evidence will be examined in June, after all witnesses and suspects have been questioned, and final sentencing will be announced on June 30.
The 76,000-page file, split into 91 folders in 17 cardboard boxes, details the allegations of public fund embezzlement Torres and Urdangarín are accused of, as well as a complex money-laundering racket.
Set up as a non-profit entity aimed at organising sports and cultural events in Valencia and the Balearic Islands, the Nóos Institute is said to have sent 'inflated' invoices for its services to the two regional governments, with the two co-directors pocketing the difference.
To account for the money, Urdangarín invoiced the dormant company Aizóon, S.L. - owned jointly by him and the Infanta Cristina but with no known activity or staff – for his 'consultation services'.
The couple are reported to have offset personal expenses including holidays and domestic employees' wages against their tax duties for Aizóon and the Nóos Institute, allowing them to pay a reduced rate.
Their mansion in Pedralba (Barcelona province) was embargoed and put up for sale for over €6 million, and the Infanta has refunded the money she is said to have deliberately avoided paying the tax authorities.
But in Spain, tax evasion of more than €120,000 is a criminal offence, meaning paying off the debt plus interest is not enough and the offender can be hit with a fine or even prison.
The Infanta Cristina, when she appears in court somewhere between February 9 and 26, will have to swear on oath and testify in the presence of a life-sized photo of her brother, Felipe VI, which presides over the courtroom.
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