As the dust settles on one of the worst contemporary scandals to hit Spain, Spanish media reveals that the Spanish king’s sister, Cristina de Bourbon, will be moving to Portugal “to be closer to her jailed husband”.
Following VIP arrests in the so-called Nóos case – involving tax evasion, money-laundering and the trafficking of influences – the Spanish infanta had been living with her husband and family in Switzerland.
Today however, former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin was handed a six year three month jail sentence for his part in the multi-million euro scandal, and ordered to pay €500,000.
Absolved of having helped her husband, Cristina de Bourbon has nonetheless been ordered to pay a fine of €265,000 for “civil responsibility”.
It is a case which the Guardian newspaper describes as having “further tarnished the image of the royal family and done little to allay public concern over the apparent ubiquity of corruption at the highest levels of Spanish society”.
Thus, if the country’s El Pais newspaper is to be believed, de Bourbon has decided that an address close to home so that she will be able to visit her jailed husband – but not too close – is in order.
The paper says that the Spanish princess and her husband considered the likelihood of his receiving a guilty verdict, and decided Portugal would be the best option.
Picking up the story today, Público poses the question: “Where do princesses go when the fairytale is over? Lisbon.”
As soon as the couple’s four children have finished school in Geneva this summer, they will be moving with their mother to an address in the capital.
Spain’s El Confidencial suggests de Bourbon will start working for the Aga Khan Foundation, which recently moved to Lisbon after buying up a landmark palacete in the Lapa district (click here).
According to the paper, the Aga Khan is an old friend of the former Spanish king, Cristina de Bourbon’s father.
The Nóos case centred on de Bourbon’s husband using his royal connections to win inflated public contracts to stage sports and other events, and then siphoning off the proceeds to fund the couple’s former lavish lifestyle in Barcelona.
Cristina Bourbon faced charges of helping her husband evade taxes, but pleaded not guilty, saying she had no knowledge of any illegal activities.
