Spanish royal questioned on corruption chargesFebruary 27, 2012 - 15:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Inaki Urdangarin, the son-in-law of Spain's King Juan Carlos, left a court house in Palma de Majorca in the early hours of Monday, February 27 after being questioned extensively on allegations that he had been involved with a corruption network. As M&C reported citing DPA, Urdangarin, who is married to Princess Cristina and has the title of Duke of Palma de Majorca, had been interrogated for a total of 21 hours since Saturday. Urdangarin and his business partner, Diego Torres, are suspected of using a non-profit institute to organize events related to sports and tourism in the Balearic Islands and eastern Valencia, diverting public and private funds to a network of companies they created. The Noos Institute, which was headed by Urdangarin from 2004 to 2006, received 5.8 million euros (7.5 million dollars) in public funds between 2004 and 2007. Questioned by Judge Jose Castro, Urdangarin said he had only been a figurehead at the institute where Torres pulled the strings. The duke had left “absolutely clear” that Princess Cristina had “nothing to do” with the alleged irregularities at the institute, his lawyer Mario Pascual Vives said. No bail was imposed on Urdangarin for the time being. He and Cristina were now expected to return to the United States, where they live with their four children. Cristina is the middle one among King Juan Carlos' and Queen Sofia's three children. She married Urdangarin, a former Olympic handball player, in 1997. The Zarzuela royal palace has distanced itself from Urdangarin, but the scandal has nevertheless tarnished the reputation of the royal family, with groups of republicans demonstrating outside the court house over the weekend. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. |