Husband of Spain's Princess Cristina, Inaki Urdangarin arrives to the courthouse in Palma de Mallorca, on the Spanish Balearic Island of Mallorca, yesterday.
Palma, Spain: The brother-in-law of Spain’s King, who was handed six years and three months in jail for syphoning off millions, will remain free and not be required to post bail as he prepares to appeal his sentence, a court said yesterday.
The news made waves in Spain, where the corruption scandal involving Inaki Urdangarin sparked outrage at a time when the country was going through a devastating crisis, becoming a symbol of the elite’s perceived corruption.
The decision by a court in Palma on the island of Majorca came in response to a request from prosecutors that Urdangarin be allowed to remain temporarily free if he pays bail of €200,000 ($211,000), rather than go straight to prison.
The court also said Urdangarin, a former Olympic handball player who is married to Spain’s Princess Cristina, could stay in Switzerland where he currently lives with his wife and their four children until all possible appeals are exhausted.
When the 49-year-old left the court, angry protesters shouted “chorizo” at him, a word that literally refers to a spicy Spanish sausage but also means “thief”.
Cristina had also been accused of involvement in the scandal over her husband’s business dealings while he was head of the Noos Institute, a not-for-profit sports foundation, on suspicion of helping him evade taxes.
