Spain Holds Former Party Treasurer in Tax Investigation
Source: New York Times
Spain Holds Former Party Treasurer in Tax Investigation
By RAPHAEL MINDER
Published: June 28, 2013
MADRID — The former treasurer of Spain’s ruling Popular Party, Luis Bárcenas, was in prison on Friday as part of a tax fraud investigation after a judge decided that he presented a flight risk.
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The former treasurer has been at the center of a widening corruption investigation that is threatening to implicate the leadership of the party, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
In January, Swiss authorities informed Spanish officials that Mr. Bárcenas had amassed millions in secret bank accounts. Since then, the total has risen to about 47 million euros, or about $61 milliion, officials say, and prosecutors are investigating whether Mr. Bárcenas had undeclared funds hidden in countries like the United States and Uruguay.
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Mr. Bárcenas is being investigated for various alleged irregularities, but the most serious allegation is that he ran a slush fund that made regular payments to Mr. Rajoy and other senior party officials.
The money-laundering inquiry is also focusing on whether the former treasurer was linked to a network of businessmen who allegedly made secret payments and gave gifts to politicians in exchange for public contracts.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/world/europe/spain-holds-former-party-treasurer-in-tax-investigation.html?_r=0
