Judge accepts prosecutor’s request for king’s daughter not to be named as suspect

Subpoena of Princess Cristina on Urdangarin case suspended

The judge handling the investigation into the business affairs of royal son-in-law Iñaki Urdangarin on Friday accepted a petition by the prosecutor’s office to suspend the subpoena of Urdangarin’s wife Princess Cristina to answer questions on the case in court.

Prosecutor Pedro Horrach argued that the justice system should first rule on an appeal by the prosecutor’s office against the implication of the infanta.

Earlier this week, Judge José Castro summonsed Prince Cristina to appear before him on April 27 to clarify her role as a director of the non-profit Nóos Institute, through which her husband Urdangarin allegedly siphoned off millions in public funds to private firms, including Aizoon, which is jointly owned by the princess and her husband.

In his judgment, Horrach argued that it was “discriminatory” to cite the infanta as a suspect on the case based on the evidence that had been gathered in the course of the investigation to date. He said “absolutely nothing” had emerged in the probe to reverse the previous decision not to name her as a suspect in the case.

In order to justify calling off the citation of Princess Cristina, Horrach referred to testimony by Urdangarin’s former partner at Nóos, Diego Torres, on the infanta’s role in the organization. Torres cited things such as her accompanying him and Urdangarin to view a property the Nóos Institute was considering moving its headquarters to.

Horrach said Torres’ testimony had “zero criminal relevance.” The judge also argued that it had not been demonstrated that the personal secretary to the royal daughters, Carlos García Revenga, who also worked for the Nóos Institute, knew that Urdangarin was receiving “privileged treatment” from public administrations.

Torres has been gradually feeding the judge investigating case with emails that include exchanges between the royal couple on Nóos’ business.

Vocabulary:

the prosecutor's office: la oficina del fiscal , la fiscalía
subpoena:  citación
rule on: resolver, decidir
appeal: recurso, apelación
summonsed: citado, convocado
non-profit: sin ánimo de lucro
allegedly: supuestamente
siphon off: desviar fondos
jointly: conjuntamente
probe: investigación, averiguación
call off: cancelar, suspender

Spain’s Royal Scandal (El país in English)

Urdangarin informs the king of plan to take up job in Qatar

The king’s son-in-law Iñaki Urdangarin, who is at the center of a corruption investigation, has informed the monarch of his intention to take up a job offer in Qatar, thus putting thousands of kilometers between him and the court in Mallorca where he, his former business partner and now his wife, Princess Cristina, are being probed by a judge for their alleged role in the Nóos fraud case. 

Urdangarin, who has no official role after giving up his Washington-based job with Telefónica, is set to take up an as-yet unspecified position on the staff of Spanish handball coach Valero Rivera, who has been asked to take charge of the Qatari national team. Urdangarin and Rivera have been friends since the latter was coach of the FC Barcelona handball team in the 1990s, when Urdangarin was one of the club’s key players and an Olympic star for Spain.

Rivera has yet to agree terms with the Qatari sporting authorities, but he has already asked Urdangarin to form a part of his staff. Rivera, currently the coach of Spain’s national team with which he won the world championship in Barcelona earlier this year, has always defended Urdangarin from the accusations he faces, describing him as a “great friend” and criticizing the media for “condemning him before he is put on trial.”

Urdangarin is expected to travel to Doha in the coming days to negotiate his contract. Princess Cristina will stay in Spain with the couple’s children, at least until the end of the school year.

It is believed the duke will be allowed to travel abroad as the prosecutor in the Nóos case, Pedro Horrach, will not demand that he hand over his passport, despite his status as a suspect in the ongoing investigation.

In 1997 Urdangarin married Princess Cristina, taking the title of Duke of Palma. Now the investigation led by Judge José Castro has revealed that he and his partner at the non-profit Nóos Institute, Diego Torres, received fat contracts from the regional governments of the Balearic Islands and Valencia when organizing sports-related events and conferences, later allegedly pocketing the money via offshore accounts and front companies. In 2005 the duke and duchess bought a mansion in Barcelona worth 5.4 million euros. This property is now at the disposition of the Mallorca court after Urdangarin and Torres were unable to pay the 8.1 million-euro bond imposed on them by Judge Castro.

Last week the investigating judge took the step of targeting Princess Cristina as a formal suspect in the case, although the subpoena that demands she report to the Palma de Mallorca courthouse to declare has been suspended pending an appeal by Prosecutor Horrach in the case.

Vocabulary

Take up: to adopt the study, practice, or activity of:  ( iniciar, empezar)
former: previous, first of the two mentioned (anterior)
probe: to search into or question closely  (investigar)
alleged: supposed (presunto, supuesto)
give up : quit, resign from a job ( abandonar)
take charge of: take command or control of ( hacerse cargo de)
latter: mentioned second ( último mencionado)
currently: at present ( en este momento,  actualmente)
prosecutor: fiscal, abogado de la acusación
hand over: give ( entregar)
ongoing investigation:  in progress ( investigación en curso)
non-profit: not run to make money (no lucrativa, sin ánimo de lucro)
fat contracts: contratos jugosos
allegedly: said to be ( presuntamente, supuestamente)
pocket : to take surreptitiously or unlawfully; steal  (embolsarse)
offshore: overseas; abroad (extranjero)
bond: bail ( fianza)
take the step: dar el paso, tomar la iniciativa
subpoena: a writ issued by a court of justice requiring a person to appear before the court at a specified time  (citación)
pend : to await judgment / be unresolved or undecided (quedar pendiente)
appeal: to apply to a superior court to review (a case or particular issue decided by a lower tribunal)  (apelar)
an application or resort to another person or authority, esp a higher one, as for a decision or confirmation of a decision  (apelación)

SPANISH KING'S DAUGHTER CHARGED IN CORRUPTION INQUIRY

Picture

Spanish king's daughter charged in corruption inquiry 
(Reuters) - Spain's Princess Cristina, daughter of King Juan Carlos, was charged on Wednesday in a corruption inquiry against her husband, the latest in a spate of high-level graft cases that have angered Spaniards suffering in a severe recession. 

The princess, 47, was ordered to appear before a judge on April 27, charged in a pre-trial investigation amounting to an extraordinary legal move against a member of the royal family.

Judge Jose Castro said there was evidence the princess was an accomplice to her husband, Iñaki Urdangarín, who has been accused of tax fraud and embezzling 6 million euros in public funds when he headed a charitable foundation.

"The law is the same for everyone," the judge said in a court document explaining his decision, echoing the king's own words in his 2011 Christmas address to the nation.

Corruption experts said Castro was building up to issuing a formal indictment against both Urdangarin and Cristina that could lead to putting them both on trial.

Disenchantment with the rich and powerful has grown in Spain as unemployment has soared to 26 percent, one of the worst rates in Europe, and a cases of corruption and nepotism in the ruling classes have piled up.

Manuel Villoria, an expert in corruption and professor of political science at King Juan Carlos University, called the charges "devastating" for the royal family.

"He is saying he considers (Cristina) an accomplice, that he (Urdangarin) could not have done it without her. She had knowledge and didn't put a stop to it," Villoria said.

The decision will probably deepen public disenchantment with the royal family and fuel debate on whether the once-popular king should abdicate in favour of his son, Crown Prince Felipe.

Castro had been looking into emails which were sent by Urdangarin to his wife asking for her advice on business matters at his charitable Noos Foundation.

A former Olympics handball player, Urdangarin is accused of using his powerful connections to win public contracts to stage events on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca and elsewhere in Spain. Urdangarin has denied any wrongdoing.

Castro said he had charged Princess Cristina because he wanted her to testify in person, and under Spanish law she could have avoided doing so had he charged her as a witness.

The Royal Palace declined to comment.

King Juan Carlos, 75, and his wife, Queen Sofia, have tried to distance themselves from the scandal. Urdangarin has been barred from royal family events, and photographs of him have been taken off the official website.

"I think this is a good thing. If she did something wrong, it's logical that justice be done," said Diana Presa, a student in Madrid.

In an unrelated case that has also stirred public ire, judges have brought charges against three former treasurers of the governing People's Party for crimes ranging from bribery to money laundering to tax evasion.

Public irritation with the king has risen as his luxury lifestyle, rumors of adultery and allegations of corruption in the royal family have taken prominence in once respectful local media while ordinary Spaniards face a crippling economic crisis.

Juan Carlos was once revered for his role in shepherding a transition to democracy in the 1970s after dictator Francisco Franco died. But his image has deteriorated.

Last year he broke his hip while hunting elephants on safari in Africa, and the news enraged many Spaniards whose standard of living has plunged during the recession.

In December a survey found 79 percent of Spaniards felt that Prince Felipe was ready to be head of state, while the king's personal approval rating had fallen to 58 percent, down from 74 percent before his safari.

The latest CIS poll showed Spaniards naming corruption as the nation's second biggest problem after unemployment.

SPANISH PRINCESS TO FACE COURT IN CORRUPTION INQUIRY

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Spanish princess to face court in corruption inquiry

Spain's Princess Cristina has been summoned to appear in court over allegations that her husband misused millions of euros of public money. 

It is reported to be the first court summons for a direct descendant of the Spanish king. She is King Juan Carlos's youngest daughter. 

Her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, denies wrongdoing and has not been charged. 

He is suspected of having massively overcharged local authorities for organising sporting events. 

It is alleged that some of the money ended up in companies controlled by Iñaki Urdangarin - who is the Duke of Palma and a former Olympic handball player - in offshore bank accounts. 

The events allegedly happened between 2004 and 2006, when the duke stepped down as head of the non-profit Noos Institute. 

He and his former business partner Diego Torres are suspected of misusing millions of euros in public funds that were given to the institute - a charitable foundation. 

Mr Torres, who was questioned by a judge in February, has also denied any wrongdoing. 

The duke has sought to distance King Juan Carlos from the scandal, pointing out in February that the royal house "had no opinion, did not advise and did not authorise" any of his activities at the institute. 

"When the accusations arose, the palace recommended I stop any activity not considered appropriate to my institutional status, which I did," the duke is reported to have said. 

'Out of touch' 

Princess Cristina has been asked to appear in court in Palma de Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands, on 27 April. 

Emails have come to light suggesting that the princess knew about her husband's financial affairs, the Spanish El País newspaper reported. 

Anti-corruption campaigners have urged the judge to formally name Princess Cristina as a suspect, alleging that she may also have been involved. 

Emails published by Spanish newspapers in February also appear to show that King Juan Carlos took a close interest in his son-in-law's business affairs. 

Support for the royal family has diminished in recent years, amid criticism that it is out of touch with ordinary Spaniards as they struggle with a severe economic crisis. 

The king, 75, is credited with steering Spain to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 - but his reputation has been damaged by the corruption inquiry implicating his son-in-law and by a luxury elephant-hunting safari he took in Africa last year at a time of record unemployment in his country. 

Correspondents say that the summons issued to the princess by Judge Jose Castro will be seen as another extremely damaging blow to the royal family. 

The duke was suspended from official royal engagements in December. 

His wife - who works as the director of social welfare programmes for a Barcelona-based financial services group - has kept a low profile since reports of the alleged scandal emerged two years ago. 

She has mostly confined herself to the mansion in which she lives in the city with her husband and four children. 

"The royal household does not comment in any way on judicial decisions," a spokesman for the royal family told the AFP news agency.

PRINCESS CRISTINA OF SPAIN TO APPEAR IN COURT

Princess Cristina Of Spain To Appear In Court
Spain's Princess Cristina has been ordered to appear in court in a corruption case involving her husband the Duke of Palma.
A court has named Spain's Princess Cristina as a suspect in a corruption case involving her husband, the Duke of Palma.

The court in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, said that the 47-year-old daughter of King Juan Carlos, is to be called for questioning on April 27.

The case centres on claims that her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, and his former business partner, Diego Torres, funnelled around 5 million euros (£4.25m) of public funds to companies they controlled.

They are accused of syphoning off money paid by regional governments to stage sports and tourism events to the non-profit Noos Institute, which the Duke was chairman of from 2004 to 2006.

The Duke, who has not been charged with any crime and maintains his innocence, attempted to distance his wife and the rest of the royals from his business dealings when he was questioned in court in February.

But his former business partner then provided the judge with emails that were leaked appearing to show that the Duke regularly consulted his wife, a member of the board of the Noos Institute, about the organisation's affairs.

Princess Cristina, the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, is seventh in line to the throne.

The princess, who was a member of the Spanish Olympic sailing team at the Seoul games in 1988, married her husband, a former handball player, in 1997 and together the couple have four children.

The couple moved to Washington in 2009 when the Duke took up the role as executive director of the US subsidiary of Spanish telecommunications firm Telefonica.

They were living there when the corruption allegations emerged but returned to Barcelona in August last year.

The summons by Judge Jose Castro will be seen as extremely damaging to the royal family, whose popularity is waning, according to recent polls.

The 75-year-old king is credited with steering Spain to democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 but his standing has been hit by the corruption case and over a luxury elephant-hunting safari he took in Africa last year at a time of record unemployment in Spain.

An opinion poll published last month showed almost 57% of Spaniards felt the king should abdicate in favour of his 45-year-old son Prince Felipe.

He is currently recovering from surgery to his lower spine - his seventh operation in three years.

A spokesman for the palace said: "The royal household does not comment in any way on judicial decisions."

INFANTA CRISTINA OF SPAIN FACES CHARGES OVER CORRUPTION SCANDAL

Infanta Cristina of Spain faces charges over corruption scandal   03 APRIL 2013

Spain's Infanta Cristina, the youngest daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, faces charges over allegations that her husband embezzled millions of euros of public money.

Her husband of 16 years, Inaki Urdangarin, is suspected of having overcharged local authorities for organising sporting and tourism events.The Duke of Palma, a former Olympic handball player, denies wrongdoing and has not been charged. His wife, the Duchess of Palma de Mallora, has been summoned to appear in court on 27 April. 

Emails have come to light suggesting that she knew about her husband's financial affairs, according to Spain's El País newspaper.

Inaki and his former business partner Diego Torres are believed to have syphoned off around €5m given by local governments to the Noos institute, of which Iñaki was partner from 2004 to 2006, to organise sporting and tourism events. It is alleged that some of the money ended up in companies controlled by the duke and in offshore bank accounts. The 45-year-old was suspended from royal engagements in December. 

It is not clear on what charges the princess was called to testify by judge Jose Castro but commentators have said that the situation may increase pressure on Juan Carlos to abdicate after a series of blunders in recent months.

It is reportedly the first court summons for a direct descendant of the Spanish king.

VIDEO SCRIPT: CATALONIA INDEPENDENCE

They have their own language, their own flag, and on Sunday, citizens of Catalonia could be paving the way to having their own country. Catalonia is Spain’s wealthiest region. Separatists there say they would be better off cutting ties with Madrid and the rest of Spain and local elections Sunday could put those separatists in power. The BBC reports:

 “As Catalonia’s economic crisis has worsened, the regional government has almost run out of money.  That has galvanized support for Catalan nationalist parties. The small town of Galifa, near Barcelona , has even decided to send its federal tax money to the regional government instead. It’s purely symbolic  since the region will just forward the money on to the federal level but it’s another sign that Catalonians  think they are ready to go it alone.

According to financial services group Credit Suisse, Catalonia on its own would be comparable in GDP per capita to the average  European Union nation . But Spain, having lost its richest region, would drop to the likes of Greece and Portugal.

Sounds like independence would work out well for Catalonia, but the Washington Post says that doesn’t take all the economic consequences into account.  If the region did formally secede, it might have to leave the euro and the EU, at least temporarily… Leaving the euro could cause a lot of economic disruption and Catalonia’s regional government remains highly indebted.

GAY ADOPTION (ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST)

GAY ADOPTION: ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST + VIDEO

PROS AND CONS OF GAY ADOPTION

DEBATE: GAY ADOPTION (ARGUMENTS, VIDEOS…)

SHOULD GAY COUPLES BE GIVEN THE SAME LEGAL RIGHTS AS HETEROSEXUALS IN ADOPTING CHILDREN?

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN BY SAME SEX COUPLES (PROS AND CONS)

SHOULD GAYS AND LESBIANS BE ALLOWED TO ADOPT CHILDREN?

HOME SWAPS

ARTICLES

• How Home Swaps Works
• House swaps: How to See the World on the Cheap

VIDEOS

• House Swapping for Cheap Vacations
• The Free Home Exchange Network
• CBS News story on swapping homes. Permanet House Exchange

EVICTIONS IN SPAIN _ ARTICLES

ARTICLES

• Spanish banks suspend evictions for homeowners in 'extreme financial need'
• Spanish banks to limit some evictions
• Spain in shock hit by increase of suicides caused by evictions
• Wave of evictions leads to homeless crisis in Spain
• Spain's politicians pledge to stop evictions after suicide
• Spanish banks suspend evictions after woman´s suicide sparks fury

SOCIETY: LISTENING WITH SCRIPTS AND VOCABULARY

  

LISTENING WITH SCRIPTS AND VOCABULARY

   

• SPANISH DEMONSTRATION AGAINST BULLFIGHTING                     ENGLISH RIOTS 
• ONLINE DATING IS CHANGING HOW WE FLIRT 

  
THE SEVENTH BILLIONTH BABY              INFORMATION SOCIETY 

• MAKING WAY FOR EUROVISION 
• VALENTINE'S DAY 
• SOAP OPERAS 

  

• ONE BILLION PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY 
• HUNGER IN INDIA 

LISTENING WITH DOWNLOADABLE SCRIPTS 

  

         SHAM WEDDINGS                 AIRLINE COMPLAINTS               POPULATION EXPLOSION 

     
         SHOPPING                                         SOCIAL MOBILITY 

LLEIDA BANS BURQAS IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS

Spanish city of Lleida bans burqas in public buildings
‘I feel proud that Lleida is the first city in Spain to regulate against something that is Discriminatory against women,’ Mayor Angel Ros told state run radio. 

Spanish city of Lleida bans burqas in public buildings

‘I feel proud that Lleida is the first city in Spain to regulate against something that is discriminatory against women,’ Mayor Angel Ros told state run radio.

The Spanish city of Lleida on Thursday became the country’s first to implement a ban on the wearing of face-covering Islamic veils in municipal buildings.

Lleida, located in the northeastern region of Catalonia, approved the legislation in May, but procedural issues have delayed its implementation.


The gesture is largely symbolic, because only about 3 percent of Lleida’s population is Muslim, only a handful of whom actually wear body-covering burqas or face-covering niqab garments.
Spain has a population of 47 million, of which about 1 million are Muslim. Most live in Catalonia and the southern region of Andalucia, however burqas are rarely seen publicly. 
Other towns, including the Catalan capital Barcelona, have taken similar steps but bans are yet to take effect. 

The Spanish government is considering including the ban in a future law covering a variety of religious issues.