Bárcenas and two other PP politicians go straight to jail over Gürtel case
Monday, May 28, 2018 @ 9:52 PM
THREE top-flight members of the reigning PP party have been sent straight to prison following the historic Gürtel corruption trial, and the fate of another 12 will be decided on Wednesday.
Luis Bárcenas (pictured), who was treasurer until 2009 – and who spent 19 months in custody at the beginning of the Gürtel investigations – along with former regional minister from Madrid, Alberto López Viejo and ex-mayor of Majadahonda (Madrid region), Guillermo Ortega are all now behind bars following a five-hour hearing at the National Court today.
The criminal section of the court said sending them straight to jail – even though the sentence is open to appeal - was justified, given the number of years they will have to serve and the sophisticated and long-running financial and business network and organisation dedicated to making off-the-books cash running into millions.
Despite Bárcenas' release after his 19-month spell in Madrid's Soto del Real prison based upon his defence persuading a judge he was not a flight risk, it has now been decided he may abscond, given that part of the huge amount of funds he held – up to €48.2 million in Swiss bank accounts – has never been located.
He will go back to Soto del Real along with López Viejo and Ortega, and their fellow inmates include Catalunya politicians Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart – leaders of the Catalunya National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural respectively – and former FC Barcelona chairman Sandro Rosell.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com