Let's not beat about the bush. There's no sympathy for Mallorca's politicians who, one by one, have been sent or are being sent to a prison cell. For so long they didn't go inside. Now they are going. Nadal, Buils, Munar. Enjoy your summer vacations.
No sympathy but a nasty smell. There is one name missing from the register of inmates. Jaume Matas. Ex-president of the Balearics. He can enjoy the rest of the summer at liberty. And he can thank the Balearics High Court for allowing him to put his feet up on a sun lounger rather than having to take a holiday in the company of two former tourism ministers.
Matas had been sentenced to a total of six years for various misdemeanours related to that part of the "caso Palma Arena" which had to do with irregular payments involving the journalist Antonio Alemany. The High Court has reduced this sentence to nine months. It has confirmed Matas's guilt on one count of corruption but has quashed the other charges. A nine-month sentence for a first offence means he will not go to prison; a two-year sentence is normally the tariff required to trigger actual incarceration.
The nasty smell emanates from the fact that, whereas Matas has had a significant reduction in his sentence, others, in a different case, have not been so lucky. Miguel Nadal, one of the former tourism ministers, has copped for four years. Francesc Buils, the other former tourism minister, has received three years. Both these sentences relate to the "caso Voltor", one that centred on irregular payments through the tourism ministry. Nadal and Buils will, by the time you read this, either be inside or be packing a bag and getting ready to go away for a stretch.
Maria Antònia Munar, the former president of the Council of Mallorca, has been sent to prison. She has managed to thus far rack up a total of eleven and a half years for different offences. The court in Palma, not the High Court, agreed that she should enter prison. Her case will doubtless go to the High Court, the one that has spared Matas but has condemned Nadal.
Munar, powerful woman though she once was, may not find the High Court to be as lenient as it has been with Matas. One very big difference between, on the one hand, Jaume Matas, and on the other, Munar, Nadal and Buils, is that Matas was a Partido Popular politician; Munar, Nadal and Buils were all with the disgraced, now defunct Unió Mallorquina. And it is this difference that really causes the smell plus the fact, where Nadal and Buils are concerned, that they were comparatively unimportant and lesser political figures. They have been dispensable, and their dispensability owes at least something to their weakness; they, especially Nadal, just seemed to do what they had to do or what they were told to do.
There can be no sympathy and there is no sympathy for Nadal and Buils, but the shock that has greeted the reduction in Matas's sentence has been compounded by the treatment of these other politicians. They were different cases, but there is a real feeling of one rule for the powerful and one rule for the less powerful; for the dispensable.
Matas, prior to his reprieve, had spoken of the messages of support he had been receiving from former colleagues within the PP. He was at pains to point out that they were just friendly gestures, but the mere fact of them having been made has raised suspicions. Not for the first time, a leading politician, rather than a more lowly one, has been spared a spell in prison. And these leading politicians typically come from the ranks of the PP, though not exclusively; a case against the former PSOE minister, José Blanco, for trafficking influence, was recently archived by the High Court in Madrid.
Matas isn't completely out of the woods as he is implicated in other cases, but it has been put to me that he will end up avoiding prison. The sentence reduction reinforces a perception that the courts ultimately bow to pressure. Matas was not just a former Balearics president, he was also environment minister from 2000 to 2003 in the Aznar national government.
But what of Munar? Not a member of the PP, will she prove to be dispensable? What has come out over the years since both she and Matas were first faced with serious charges is that both of them ran their parties in all-powerful ways. But while Matas might still be able to cling to some former power, what is there for Maria Munar to cling to?
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Showing posts with label Caso Palma Arena. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caso Palma Arena. Show all posts
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Saturday, July 21, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Judge wants to see proposal for tourism forum
I wouldn't for one moment claim that Judge Castro, who is the one in charge of the caso Palma Arena of which the affairs of Iñaki Urdangarin form a part, reads what I have to say, but on 11 July I mentioned the sports tourism forum to be held in Palma in October and referred to the fact that it was precisely such a forum, and the invoices that ended up with the regional government, that was the starting-point for the investigation into Urdangarin's affairs through his organisation, the Instituto Nóos. Anyway, Judge Castro has demanded that the tourism ministry lets him see the proposal regarding the forum that is scheduled for October.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Matas gets six years
The sentencing of ex-Balearics president Jaume Matas and others in the first trial to do with the "caso Palma Arena" has resulted in Matas being given a six-year sentence.
Journalist Antonio Alemany has received a three-year and nine-month sentence; former government director of communication Joan Martorell has been condemned to a year and a half and head of PR company Nimbus, Miguel Romero, has received a sentence of one year, one month and 15 days.
Matas has been found guilty of abuse of public office, false accounting, fraud and misappropriation. The facts of this part of the Palma Arena case had to do with payments to businesses operated by the some-time journalist with the "El Mundo" newspaper, Antonio Alemany, which amounted to some half a million euros during Matas' period of office between 2003 and 2007.
The payments, described as totally unnecessary by prosecutors, were for articles that were favourable to the president and his government, while some other articles never actually appeared. In addition, Alemany, with government funds, was able to create a news website and news agency. This website is among those reporting the declarations by the court, one of which describes Alemany as "fiercely independent except when it comes to money and power".
Lawyers for Matas and Alemany have said that they will appeal against the sentences, while for the moment it is unclear whether they will enter prison immediately or not. The public prosecution had said that if the sentence for Matas was longer than five years that he should go straight inside, but it seems that no demand has been made on preventive grounds, i.e. that Matas might leave the country. As he has had his passport withdrawn anyway, this might seem unlikely. Ratification of the sentence by the Supreme Court could also delay any entrance into prison, and the delay could be as long as a year. Meantime, there will be other parts of the "caso Palma Arena" to be heard.
Journalist Antonio Alemany has received a three-year and nine-month sentence; former government director of communication Joan Martorell has been condemned to a year and a half and head of PR company Nimbus, Miguel Romero, has received a sentence of one year, one month and 15 days.
Matas has been found guilty of abuse of public office, false accounting, fraud and misappropriation. The facts of this part of the Palma Arena case had to do with payments to businesses operated by the some-time journalist with the "El Mundo" newspaper, Antonio Alemany, which amounted to some half a million euros during Matas' period of office between 2003 and 2007.
The payments, described as totally unnecessary by prosecutors, were for articles that were favourable to the president and his government, while some other articles never actually appeared. In addition, Alemany, with government funds, was able to create a news website and news agency. This website is among those reporting the declarations by the court, one of which describes Alemany as "fiercely independent except when it comes to money and power".
Lawyers for Matas and Alemany have said that they will appeal against the sentences, while for the moment it is unclear whether they will enter prison immediately or not. The public prosecution had said that if the sentence for Matas was longer than five years that he should go straight inside, but it seems that no demand has been made on preventive grounds, i.e. that Matas might leave the country. As he has had his passport withdrawn anyway, this might seem unlikely. Ratification of the sentence by the Supreme Court could also delay any entrance into prison, and the delay could be as long as a year. Meantime, there will be other parts of the "caso Palma Arena" to be heard.
Monday, March 19, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - First Matas sentence to be delivered tomorrow (20 March)
Prosecutors, lawyers and accused have been called to attend court in Palma at 11am tomorrow (20 March) to hear the decision of the court in respect of the first trial of ex-Balearics president Jaume Matas and others that took place in January. Prosecutors have called for a prison sentence of eight and a half years for the former president.
Monday, February 27, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - The Duke of Palma still has questions to answer
Finally, at 01.30 in the morning, the interrogations of the Duke of Palma (Iñaki Urdangarin) came to an end. At 04.15, he left the court, having spent further time revising papers to do with his declaration. The lawyer representing Manos Limpias, the union that had brought a "popular" action against the Duke, did not press for charges to be laid as had been expected.
Judge Castro had made it clear that he did not believe that the marathon proceedings of yesterday were the time for charges to be laid (if they are going to be). The judge, though, may well want the Duke to return to court to make a further declaration, as there were so many evasions in the Duke's responses - he did not know answers or could not remember events.
The Duke's position, that he disassociated himself from the Instituto Nóos in 2006, has become increasingly questionable. In his declaration last week, the former director of sports in the Balearics, Pepote Ballester, suggested that the Duke had not. The Duke has admitted that he phoned Ballester and his former business partner Diego Torres in 2007 regarding the payment of 400,000 euros in respect of the sports forums organised in Mallorca. There is also evidence of email contact between the Duke and Torres in 2008 regarding various projects.
The Duke has looked to make Torres culpable, arguing that Torres robbed him, and has insisted that his wife, Princess Cristina, had nothing to do with Nóos or with the Aizoon real-estate company, other than being a director. Aizoon is one of the many companies that the Duke was associated with which, it is alleged, were used for the diversion of funds.
The royal household had apparently expressed disquiet as to the length of the interrogations of the Duke.
Judge Castro had made it clear that he did not believe that the marathon proceedings of yesterday were the time for charges to be laid (if they are going to be). The judge, though, may well want the Duke to return to court to make a further declaration, as there were so many evasions in the Duke's responses - he did not know answers or could not remember events.
The Duke's position, that he disassociated himself from the Instituto Nóos in 2006, has become increasingly questionable. In his declaration last week, the former director of sports in the Balearics, Pepote Ballester, suggested that the Duke had not. The Duke has admitted that he phoned Ballester and his former business partner Diego Torres in 2007 regarding the payment of 400,000 euros in respect of the sports forums organised in Mallorca. There is also evidence of email contact between the Duke and Torres in 2008 regarding various projects.
The Duke has looked to make Torres culpable, arguing that Torres robbed him, and has insisted that his wife, Princess Cristina, had nothing to do with Nóos or with the Aizoon real-estate company, other than being a director. Aizoon is one of the many companies that the Duke was associated with which, it is alleged, were used for the diversion of funds.
The royal household had apparently expressed disquiet as to the length of the interrogations of the Duke.
The Power To Corrupt
If the Duke of Palma's appearances in court were to have a British parallel, it would be like Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence being up before the beak for allegedly fiddling a few invoices, though to be more sportingly accurate, it would be preferable were Captain Mark Phillips in the dock. An Olympic gold medallist, he does share a sporting background with the Duke who, as simple Iñaki Urdangarin, was an Olympic handball medallist.
What do former Olympic medallists with royal connections do once they are no longer participants in their sports? They stay with sport. Captain Mark has gone on to be a successful horsey person. Iñaki has gone on to be a sort of Mr. Fixer for sport of all sorts. Perhaps he should have stuck with handball, the sport he knew.
How has the Duke come to be in a Palma court? Partly, it is because, like many sportspeople, his life remained sport after he had ceased to be a player. The impulse is strong. It is one that makes managers, coaches, pundits and administrators of former players. It, the sport, is all they know. But normally, they stick with the one sport they knew. The Duke became positively Olympian in terms of his sporting interests.
It may have been the Duke's misfortune, or fortune if you prefer, to have sought to carve out a sports marketing career at the same time as Jaume Matas was president of the Balearics. Matas has been exposed as a vain man, one who coveted the company of celebrity (and royalty) and who puffed himself up with grandiose projects or ideas for projects of a sporting nature. The "caso Palma Arena" takes its name from the velodrome. It was just one of Matas' pet schemes. Another was the preposterous idea of staging a grand prix on the streets of Palma.
Making sense of the trail that has led to what has not been a trial but a declaration in front of the judge reveals a whole world of sport that the Duke inhabited. The case against him first surfaced when the judge investigating the "caso Palma Arena" was inclined to consider arrangements between the Fundación Illesport (and IBATUR, the now defunct-because-of-corruption tourism agency) and the Duke's Instituto Nóos that related to international sports forums in Mallorca at the time of Matas' second presidency.
This was not the first time the Duke's institute had dabbled in grand sports gatherings. There had been the Valencia Summit in 2004, an annual sporting debate. There had been the European Games that weren't, also in Valencia, for which initially Nóos was to receive three million euros from the Valencia administration (it came to less than half this). Then there was the Palma Arena itself and an alleged 2.3 million euros from the Matas government to Nóos. And there was advice in respect of Villarreal football club; a ten-page report cost nearly 700,000 euros.
To itemise all the bits of evidence, if only in outline, would take much more than a ten-page report. How much paperwork the prosecutors and the judge have to consider is anyone's guess, as it requires untangling the network of companies with which the Duke was said to have had an association and the movement of funds to the UK, the USA and Belize. The Duke, in his declaration, has intimated that he knew little or nothing of these companies. They were under the management of his former business partner Diego Torres.
Through this network, so it is claimed, contracts from local authorities - the Balearics, Valencia, Alcalá de Henares, Mataró - were turned into subcontracts to companies operated by the Duke and for which unrealistic charges were made and payments sent offshore into tax havens.
The Duke has, however, further intimated that he only got involved with sports matters. Sport is all he knows, one might conclude. Olympic medallist he was, but he also acquired a diploma in business science from the University of Barcelona, is licensed in business management and had gained an MBA from ESADE, one of Spain's leading business schools.
The Duke will discover whether or not he is to face charges. This is why he has been in court; to establish whether there are grounds for formal charges.
Whether charges are laid or not, the Duke's story shows that sport, meant to have the power for good, can just as easily have the power to corrupt. His sporting background was the Olympics, his sporting interests were Olympian in scope, and the Olympics movement itself was once the embodiment of how sport can corrupt.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
What do former Olympic medallists with royal connections do once they are no longer participants in their sports? They stay with sport. Captain Mark has gone on to be a successful horsey person. Iñaki has gone on to be a sort of Mr. Fixer for sport of all sorts. Perhaps he should have stuck with handball, the sport he knew.
How has the Duke come to be in a Palma court? Partly, it is because, like many sportspeople, his life remained sport after he had ceased to be a player. The impulse is strong. It is one that makes managers, coaches, pundits and administrators of former players. It, the sport, is all they know. But normally, they stick with the one sport they knew. The Duke became positively Olympian in terms of his sporting interests.
It may have been the Duke's misfortune, or fortune if you prefer, to have sought to carve out a sports marketing career at the same time as Jaume Matas was president of the Balearics. Matas has been exposed as a vain man, one who coveted the company of celebrity (and royalty) and who puffed himself up with grandiose projects or ideas for projects of a sporting nature. The "caso Palma Arena" takes its name from the velodrome. It was just one of Matas' pet schemes. Another was the preposterous idea of staging a grand prix on the streets of Palma.
Making sense of the trail that has led to what has not been a trial but a declaration in front of the judge reveals a whole world of sport that the Duke inhabited. The case against him first surfaced when the judge investigating the "caso Palma Arena" was inclined to consider arrangements between the Fundación Illesport (and IBATUR, the now defunct-because-of-corruption tourism agency) and the Duke's Instituto Nóos that related to international sports forums in Mallorca at the time of Matas' second presidency.
This was not the first time the Duke's institute had dabbled in grand sports gatherings. There had been the Valencia Summit in 2004, an annual sporting debate. There had been the European Games that weren't, also in Valencia, for which initially Nóos was to receive three million euros from the Valencia administration (it came to less than half this). Then there was the Palma Arena itself and an alleged 2.3 million euros from the Matas government to Nóos. And there was advice in respect of Villarreal football club; a ten-page report cost nearly 700,000 euros.
To itemise all the bits of evidence, if only in outline, would take much more than a ten-page report. How much paperwork the prosecutors and the judge have to consider is anyone's guess, as it requires untangling the network of companies with which the Duke was said to have had an association and the movement of funds to the UK, the USA and Belize. The Duke, in his declaration, has intimated that he knew little or nothing of these companies. They were under the management of his former business partner Diego Torres.
Through this network, so it is claimed, contracts from local authorities - the Balearics, Valencia, Alcalá de Henares, Mataró - were turned into subcontracts to companies operated by the Duke and for which unrealistic charges were made and payments sent offshore into tax havens.
The Duke has, however, further intimated that he only got involved with sports matters. Sport is all he knows, one might conclude. Olympic medallist he was, but he also acquired a diploma in business science from the University of Barcelona, is licensed in business management and had gained an MBA from ESADE, one of Spain's leading business schools.
The Duke will discover whether or not he is to face charges. This is why he has been in court; to establish whether there are grounds for formal charges.
Whether charges are laid or not, the Duke's story shows that sport, meant to have the power for good, can just as easily have the power to corrupt. His sporting background was the Olympics, his sporting interests were Olympian in scope, and the Olympics movement itself was once the embodiment of how sport can corrupt.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Duke of Palma in court - day two
After the Lord Mayor's Show, this morning's events outside the court were quite different. It is Sunday morning after all. No more than 20 protesters, and the Duke arrived for the second day of declaration in a more relaxed mood.
The Duke is expected to insist that Princess Cristina had nothing to do with the Instiuto Nóos. Meanwhile, revelations keep emerging, the latest being the apparent existence of false invoices related to the European Games, something the Duke was involved with along with the Valencia regional government, but which didn't take place.
The Duke has said that the alleged contracting of phantom employees at the Instituto Nóos was a matter to do with his ex-business partner Diego Torres. He has admitted that he was involved with a regional government payment of 400,000 euros to the institute in respect of a sports promotional forum held in Mallorca but that the exact amount of payment was not something he controlled. He has continued to insist that he knew nothing about the network of companies with which he was said to be involved. Lunch taken at just after 14:00.
Update: The real-estate company Aizoon, in which Pincess Cristina was a partner, was the sole responsibility of the Duke, he has testified. Money from Nóos, it has been suggested, was diverted to Aizoon.
The judge lost patience at one point with the Duke's evasiveness and inability to remember, suggesting it might have been better had he not come to declare. After some 15 hours of questioning, the judge handed over to the prosecutors at around 17:30.
The Duke has accused Diego Torres of having negotiated contracts with local governments off his own back.
Update (20:30): The proceedings seem to be becoming increasingly absurd. Some lawyers are unhappy that the judge took so long in his questioning, and with others, in addition to the prosecutors, to lodge their questions, it is possible they could all be there into the early morning. How can anyone be expected to give reasonable evidence (or reasonable questions) after such a protracted session? They should call it a day and come back again. Ridiculous.
On and on they go. The judge has indicated that if there is to be an injunction served on the Duke it will not be today. There is also now a suggestion that, because of the evasiveness of the Duke, Princess Cristina may be called to declare. Thankfully, not today or nearly tomorrow. The prosecutors have just about finished their questions. It is now 23:30.
The Duke is expected to insist that Princess Cristina had nothing to do with the Instiuto Nóos. Meanwhile, revelations keep emerging, the latest being the apparent existence of false invoices related to the European Games, something the Duke was involved with along with the Valencia regional government, but which didn't take place.
The Duke has said that the alleged contracting of phantom employees at the Instituto Nóos was a matter to do with his ex-business partner Diego Torres. He has admitted that he was involved with a regional government payment of 400,000 euros to the institute in respect of a sports promotional forum held in Mallorca but that the exact amount of payment was not something he controlled. He has continued to insist that he knew nothing about the network of companies with which he was said to be involved. Lunch taken at just after 14:00.
Update: The real-estate company Aizoon, in which Pincess Cristina was a partner, was the sole responsibility of the Duke, he has testified. Money from Nóos, it has been suggested, was diverted to Aizoon.
The judge lost patience at one point with the Duke's evasiveness and inability to remember, suggesting it might have been better had he not come to declare. After some 15 hours of questioning, the judge handed over to the prosecutors at around 17:30.
The Duke has accused Diego Torres of having negotiated contracts with local governments off his own back.
Update (20:30): The proceedings seem to be becoming increasingly absurd. Some lawyers are unhappy that the judge took so long in his questioning, and with others, in addition to the prosecutors, to lodge their questions, it is possible they could all be there into the early morning. How can anyone be expected to give reasonable evidence (or reasonable questions) after such a protracted session? They should call it a day and come back again. Ridiculous.
On and on they go. The judge has indicated that if there is to be an injunction served on the Duke it will not be today. There is also now a suggestion that, because of the evasiveness of the Duke, Princess Cristina may be called to declare. Thankfully, not today or nearly tomorrow. The prosecutors have just about finished their questions. It is now 23:30.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - The Duke of Palma's day in court
Rarely has any event in Mallorca attracted as much interest as today's appearance by the Duke of Palma (Iñaki Urdangarin) at the court in Palma to face questioning over the so-called "caso Nóos". Speculation has been rife as to how the Duke will arrive at court - on foot or by car; various protest groups will be out in force, such as the Maulets (independence radicals); police will also be out in force, extra officers having been drafted in from Valencia, along with the media.
The Duke faces charges of fraud and tax evasion, his marketing organisation the Instituto Nóos being at the centre of the charges which relate, among other things, to invoices for work that allegedly was not performed but for which government agencies paid substantial amounts of public money during the last presidency of Jaume Matas; the "caso Nóos" has, in effect, become a part of the ongoing "caso Palma Arena" investigations and trials of the former president for embezzlement and fraud.
The case has embroiled the royal family, as the Duke is married to the King's daughter, Princess Cristina. Her involvement with the case, though she has yet to be indicted and may not be, is largely to do with a real-estate firm she ran with the Duke and alleged diversion of money to this firm.
Update: So, the Duke entered on foot after all, though his car had some eggs thrown at it. 500 demonstrators protested against corruption and the monarchy. The Duke said he was seeking the truth and to defend his honour. He has admitted to the judge that the King ordered him to disassociate himself from the Instituto Nóos back in 2006.
Update: Prior to a break for lunch at 14:00, the Duke was asked mainly about the various companies that are cited in the case and with which he had associations.
The Duke has said that he did not take decisions where these companies were concerned but that the management was left to his former business partner Diego Torres and that involvement he had was confined to matters to do with sport.
Update: The Duke has said that he did meet with Jaume Matas and the former director of sport for the Balearics, "Pepote" Ballester at the Marivent palace where they discussed governmental financial support for a cycling team run by the bank Banesto and for which his company could act in marketing. It seemed a good idea to the Duke who claims that arrangements were left in the hands of Diego Torres.
Update: The Duke has declared that money from Nóos went to Belize for a foundation for sick children. The judge has indicated that he wants to finish the interrogation of the Duke today, which could mean the court session lasting to almost midnight.
Update: Showing how complex the affairs of the Duke were, questions have arisen regarding a settlement of 300,000 euros through one of the Duke's companies Global Corporate, itself linked to the Belize foundation. Global Corporate has two subsidiaries in the USA in addition to a Spanish base.
Update: Judge Castro has called a halt to proceedings at just after 20:00. Everyone will be back tomorrow at 09:30. Cue more demos no doubt.
The Duke faces charges of fraud and tax evasion, his marketing organisation the Instituto Nóos being at the centre of the charges which relate, among other things, to invoices for work that allegedly was not performed but for which government agencies paid substantial amounts of public money during the last presidency of Jaume Matas; the "caso Nóos" has, in effect, become a part of the ongoing "caso Palma Arena" investigations and trials of the former president for embezzlement and fraud.
The case has embroiled the royal family, as the Duke is married to the King's daughter, Princess Cristina. Her involvement with the case, though she has yet to be indicted and may not be, is largely to do with a real-estate firm she ran with the Duke and alleged diversion of money to this firm.
Update: So, the Duke entered on foot after all, though his car had some eggs thrown at it. 500 demonstrators protested against corruption and the monarchy. The Duke said he was seeking the truth and to defend his honour. He has admitted to the judge that the King ordered him to disassociate himself from the Instituto Nóos back in 2006.
Update: Prior to a break for lunch at 14:00, the Duke was asked mainly about the various companies that are cited in the case and with which he had associations.
The Duke has said that he did not take decisions where these companies were concerned but that the management was left to his former business partner Diego Torres and that involvement he had was confined to matters to do with sport.
Update: The Duke has said that he did meet with Jaume Matas and the former director of sport for the Balearics, "Pepote" Ballester at the Marivent palace where they discussed governmental financial support for a cycling team run by the bank Banesto and for which his company could act in marketing. It seemed a good idea to the Duke who claims that arrangements were left in the hands of Diego Torres.
Update: The Duke has declared that money from Nóos went to Belize for a foundation for sick children. The judge has indicated that he wants to finish the interrogation of the Duke today, which could mean the court session lasting to almost midnight.
Update: Showing how complex the affairs of the Duke were, questions have arisen regarding a settlement of 300,000 euros through one of the Duke's companies Global Corporate, itself linked to the Belize foundation. Global Corporate has two subsidiaries in the USA in addition to a Spanish base.
Update: Judge Castro has called a halt to proceedings at just after 20:00. Everyone will be back tomorrow at 09:30. Cue more demos no doubt.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
On Trial: The Spanish judiciary
Justice, administered and delivered by judges and magistrates in Spain, is administered and delivered in the name of the King. The King, in addressing a legal profession gathering in Barcelona, has reminded judges that it is they alone who impart justice. On Saturday, the King's son-in-law appears in a Palma court. The judge presiding over the "caso Nóos" is consulting with not just the prosecution but also the government and the Partido Popular as to whether they wish the King's daughter, Princess Cristina, to be indicted as part of this case.
Make of this little mix what you will, as there is an awful lot that can be made of it.
Under the Spanish Constitution, the judiciary is independent, and so of course it should be. But the extent to which it truly is independent or neutral is coming under increasing scrutiny. The Garzón affair has raised serious doubts, and the royal family having become embroiled in the wider investigation and trial of the former president of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, raises more doubts.
Let's be clear. If, and one stresses if, there is a case for the King's daughter to answer, then so be it. The royal household, from the outset of the investigation of the Duke of Palma, has made it clear that it respects the actions of the judiciary, but justice being administered and delivered in the name of King when it might involve the King's daughter, as opposed to a commoner (which the Duke is), highlights just how much of a dilemma has been created by the investigation.
For Judge Castro, the dilemma is enormous. By consulting with the government and a political party, he runs the risk of being seen to be subject to political influence. Should it not be his decision and his decision alone? Possibly. But by counselling the wishes of the political class, or a part of it, he is placing the dilemma in the hands of this political class.
In some respects, one could say he is playing a blinder, as he is handing responsibility elsewhere. But however the political class decides to play things, it will be criticised. Firstly, it will be criticised for getting involved at all. Secondly, if it says it does not wish the Princess to be indicted, it risks being accused of applying one rule for one and one rule for another (assuming, that is, there genuinely is a case to answer, and most noises have suggested not, as with the evidence of former Olympic sailing gold medallist, "Pepote" Ballester). Thirdly, if it says it does wish the Princess to be indicted, then it potentially opens up a massive can of worms.
The reason why this can of worms might be opened up is that a trap has been laid by the right-wing union Manos Limpias. In calling for the Princess to be indicted, if the government and the PP were to follow its demand, the union would, in effect, receive official backing. For the government to be perceived as acceding to the wishes of a union with the type of associations it has, i.e. Francoist, could be hugely damaging.
The government will be damned if it does and damned if it doesn't, and a further problem is that the Spanish people, generally speaking, are indifferent to many members of the royal family, with the definite exception of the King, who is held in such enormous regard, and rightly so.
The whole affair surrounding the Duke couldn't have come at a worse time for the Spanish judiciary. The world is having its say about a Spanish system that has tried, convicted and removed from office a leading judge at the behest of right-wing forces. Daniel Kaufmann, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, has suggested that a travesty has been committed in respect of Judge Garzón, that judicial independence has been compromised, and, moreover, has presented evidence which indicates a decline in Spain's rule of law.
However much the Spanish judiciary is theoretically independent, there is a suspicion of politicisation and partiality. And it is caused not just by politics but also by professional rivalries within the judiciary (the Garzón affair is said to have been influenced by these). Garzón himself is not above charges of politicisation, and it is such charges, for the wider judiciary, which suggests that there needs to be some reform.
At the heart of all this, and a reason why it is all so important, is that the judiciary is a vital instrument of democracy. And in Spain, so is the monarchy. Both institutions, the legal system and the monarchy, are being placed or potentially being placed on trial.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Make of this little mix what you will, as there is an awful lot that can be made of it.
Under the Spanish Constitution, the judiciary is independent, and so of course it should be. But the extent to which it truly is independent or neutral is coming under increasing scrutiny. The Garzón affair has raised serious doubts, and the royal family having become embroiled in the wider investigation and trial of the former president of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, raises more doubts.
Let's be clear. If, and one stresses if, there is a case for the King's daughter to answer, then so be it. The royal household, from the outset of the investigation of the Duke of Palma, has made it clear that it respects the actions of the judiciary, but justice being administered and delivered in the name of King when it might involve the King's daughter, as opposed to a commoner (which the Duke is), highlights just how much of a dilemma has been created by the investigation.
For Judge Castro, the dilemma is enormous. By consulting with the government and a political party, he runs the risk of being seen to be subject to political influence. Should it not be his decision and his decision alone? Possibly. But by counselling the wishes of the political class, or a part of it, he is placing the dilemma in the hands of this political class.
In some respects, one could say he is playing a blinder, as he is handing responsibility elsewhere. But however the political class decides to play things, it will be criticised. Firstly, it will be criticised for getting involved at all. Secondly, if it says it does not wish the Princess to be indicted, it risks being accused of applying one rule for one and one rule for another (assuming, that is, there genuinely is a case to answer, and most noises have suggested not, as with the evidence of former Olympic sailing gold medallist, "Pepote" Ballester). Thirdly, if it says it does wish the Princess to be indicted, then it potentially opens up a massive can of worms.
The reason why this can of worms might be opened up is that a trap has been laid by the right-wing union Manos Limpias. In calling for the Princess to be indicted, if the government and the PP were to follow its demand, the union would, in effect, receive official backing. For the government to be perceived as acceding to the wishes of a union with the type of associations it has, i.e. Francoist, could be hugely damaging.
The government will be damned if it does and damned if it doesn't, and a further problem is that the Spanish people, generally speaking, are indifferent to many members of the royal family, with the definite exception of the King, who is held in such enormous regard, and rightly so.
The whole affair surrounding the Duke couldn't have come at a worse time for the Spanish judiciary. The world is having its say about a Spanish system that has tried, convicted and removed from office a leading judge at the behest of right-wing forces. Daniel Kaufmann, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, has suggested that a travesty has been committed in respect of Judge Garzón, that judicial independence has been compromised, and, moreover, has presented evidence which indicates a decline in Spain's rule of law.
However much the Spanish judiciary is theoretically independent, there is a suspicion of politicisation and partiality. And it is caused not just by politics but also by professional rivalries within the judiciary (the Garzón affair is said to have been influenced by these). Garzón himself is not above charges of politicisation, and it is such charges, for the wider judiciary, which suggests that there needs to be some reform.
At the heart of all this, and a reason why it is all so important, is that the judiciary is a vital instrument of democracy. And in Spain, so is the monarchy. Both institutions, the legal system and the monarchy, are being placed or potentially being placed on trial.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Judge consults on Princess Cristina subpoena
The judge heading the "caso Palma Arena" trial is to consult with the government over whether it supports the subpoena and indictment of Princess Cristina, daughter of King Juan Carlos, in relation to that part of the trial that deals with the affairs of her husband's company, the Instituto Nóos. The Duke of Palma is due to appear in court on Saturday, when press from many countries are expected to come to Palma. There is a public clamour for the Duke to arrive at the court on foot, as is usually the case, rather than be brought in by car to the back of the court.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Ballester drops Duke and Matas right in it
José Luis "Pepote" Ballester, a former Olympic sailing gold medallist and ex-director general of sport in the Balearics testified yesterday in that part of the "caso Palma Arena" considering allegations related to the Duke of Palma. Ballester confirmed in open court what he had already declared to the judge that the Duke and former president of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, "plotted" contracts for the Duke's marketing organisation, Instituto Nóos, and that 400,000 euros were paid for a report that was cobbled together from others. Ballester also rejected any involvement by the Duke's wife, Princess Cristina.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Call for Princess Cristina to be subpoenaed
Manos Limpias, the union that has been closely involved with the case against Judge Baltasar Garzón for overstepping his authority in seeking to investigate crimes against humanity during the Franco era and which had previously sought to include evidence from Valencia in the case against the Duke of Palma (Iñaki Urdangarin) currently being heard in Palma, has now called on the judge in the "caso Palma Arena" to subpoena the Duke's wife Princess Cristina, daughter of King Juan Carlos.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Matas Trial: Day Ten
The evidence, summings-up by defence and prosecution and last words by defendants have come to a conclusion in that part of the caso Palma Arena trial to do with payments that were allegedly made in an irregular fashion to the journalist Antonio Alemany. Jaume Matas' defence lawyer argued that there was an absence of proof and that the prosecution had relied on suspicions and prejudice. Matas declined to make a final statement, as he is entitled to. Alemany did have his word though, accusing the prosecution of insults and making what may well be seen as an important remark regarding the case being unique in the history of grants to the press in Spain. (If nothing else, the case highlights a wholly unsatisfactory system of public money that is given to the press - my comment, not Alemany's.)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Matas Trial: Day Nine
In the prosecutors' summing-up in the part of the trial to do with the payments to journalist Antonio Alemany, Pedro Horrach expressed his "indignation" at the premeditated nature of the use of public finds made by former president Jaume Matas. He praised Matas as a good accountant (which he originally was) and Alemany as a good journalist but damned their manipulation of public funds and power.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Matas Trial: Day Eight
In court yesterday, the prosecutors confirmed that they would be calling for a sentence of eight and a half years for former president Jaume Matas in respect of the charges to do with payments to journalist Antonio Alemany. The prosecutors increased their demand to seven years where Alemany was concerned. This first part of the caso Palma Arena trial is now coming to a climax with summings-up being made this week.
Friday, January 20, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Matas Trial: Day Seven
Yesterday in court ... Things were still focussing on the journalist Antonio Alemany and payments to his Agencia Balear de Noticias, evidence from the Hacienda establishing that apart from public bodies the only client that the agency had was Alemany's own website, Libertad Balear, the implication again being that public money had gone to funding this enterprise.
Meanwhile, the Balearic Government has, for the first time ever, actually called for an ex-president, i.e. Jaume Matas, to be sentenced to imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the Balearic Government has, for the first time ever, actually called for an ex-president, i.e. Jaume Matas, to be sentenced to imprisonment.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Matas Trial: Day Six
More on how funds from the Matas government were allegedly spent by the journalist Antonio Alemany yesterday at the trial. A car is supposed to have been purchased with public funds and it would seem that the grant which went towards founding Alemany's Agencia Balear de Noticias was used to also fund his own website, Libertad Balear. Indeed, the agency and the website seem to have been more or less one of the same.
Meanwhile, there is some pretty astonishing stuff coming out regarding allegations of how public money to the Duke of Palma's Instituto Nóos went on funding the lifestyle of the Duke and Princess Cristina. It is all getting worse for the couple and is increasingly damaging to the reputation of the Royal Family.
Meanwhile, there is some pretty astonishing stuff coming out regarding allegations of how public money to the Duke of Palma's Instituto Nóos went on funding the lifestyle of the Duke and Princess Cristina. It is all getting worse for the couple and is increasingly damaging to the reputation of the Royal Family.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Matas Trial: Day Five
The fifth day of the trial concentrated mainly on the affairs of the journalist Antonio Alemany. His nephew admitted that he was the figurehead in companies formed by Alemany as the journalist did not wish to "figure" in them. Also, it was revealed that Alemany's news service, Agencia Balear de Noticias, which was set up during the Matas period of administration, was funded almost solely with government money, a "maximum" grant of 450,000 euros having been awarded, one that was sanctioned by the head of communication in the government, Joan Martorell, who is also on trial along with Matas and Alemany.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
MALLORCA TODAY - Matas Trial: Day Four
Evidence from the head of communication in the Antich PSOE government that succeeded that of Jaume Matas suggested yesterday that payments which had been made to the journalist Antonio Alemany for articles were ten times greater than would have been expected. In addition, she and the head of communication in the Matas administration indicated that work appeared not to have been done in return for payments.
In another aspect of the caso Palma Arena that now incorporates the activities of the Instituto Nóos, of which the Duke of Palma was once a director, evidence has been submitted that increasingly looks as though the Duke's wife, Princess Cristina, is becoming implicated. Payments were regularly made to the Duke and the Princess between 2006 and 2008 with invoices raised by the property company that they jointly owned.
In another aspect of the caso Palma Arena that now incorporates the activities of the Instituto Nóos, of which the Duke of Palma was once a director, evidence has been submitted that increasingly looks as though the Duke's wife, Princess Cristina, is becoming implicated. Payments were regularly made to the Duke and the Princess between 2006 and 2008 with invoices raised by the property company that they jointly owned.
The Fall Of King Jaume
It was in November 2009 when Jaume Matas' world began to cave in. It was the inventory of fixtures and fittings and luxury items at his so-called "palacete" in Palma that exposed the world he inhabited and that the press delighted in itemising. Following a police raid, the world came to know about Jaume's world. Marble bathrooms, oakwood floors, numerous paintings and artworks, any amount of state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment and security systems, 150 or more suits, 50 pairs of shoes. Oh, and a toilet-roll holder, valued at 319 euros.
The inventory might not have been that remarkable had it been the inventory of one of Mallorca's regular filthy rich. But this was the home and the inventory of the former president of the Balearics. Estimates as to the value of the palacete vary, but it was said that some two million euros had been spent on renovations alone.
Jaume is now sitting in front of a judge who will decide his fate: the first of his fates, so many are the charges against him. Old friends are deserting him, coming to agreements with prosecutors in return for leniency and for dropping Jaume ever deeper into the mess of the vanity and folly that led him to a court in Palma.
Jaume. King Jaume V. With his palacete. A home fit for kings. The King of Mallorca and the Balearics who, like old kings of Mallorca, could dispense favours, some of which the prosecutors have shown an interest in, and who ruled with such power that no one seemed able or willing to question him or to question how he came to possess the trappings of such ostentatious wealth.
Among those who didn't question this wealth were the press. They might have wanted to, but they didn't. Nor did they question other aspects of Matas' second administration between 2003 and 2007. According to one of those who has testified at the Matas trial, there were rumours in journalistic circles regarding payments that the Matas government had been making to the journalist who is also on trial with Matas, Antonio Alemany. Rumours, but no more.
With hindsight, one now senses that the press were hinting at the questions that might have been asked when there were reports of the speedy way in which Matas left politics and left Mallorca for a job in the United States after he lost the election in 2007.
It was the election defeat that opened the door to investigations by anti-corruption prosecutors. But the door, again with hindsight, was ajar, if only slightly, even during Matas' time as president. It was the Andratx corruption case, one that involved the former mayor of the town and also a member of the then government, that first caused there to be a knock on the door.
Matas demanded to know of the Spanish national attorney-general why prosecutors were rummaging around in Mallorcan affairs. It didn't get him very far. But this was probably the beginning of what brought Matas and others to the court in Palma. Jaume's kingdom was being invaded, and once he was dethroned and had gone into American exile, the prosecutors' efforts gathered momentum.
In addition to his wealth, Matas also coveted the company of celebrities and of the famous. He sought the kudos of prestigious events and projects, not least the building of the Palma Arena velodrome, which is at the centre of the allegations against him. It is how over twice the budget for the arena came to be spent and who benefited that formed the basis of prosecutor investigations.
In seeking the company of the famous, the Royal Family became embroiled with King Jaume. He has now also been indicted in connection with the investigation of Iñaki Urdangarin, the Duke of Palma and the real King's son-in-law. As part of that investigation, it has been confirmed that an immediate payment of over 300,000 euros to the Duke's institute was agreed to a month before the 2007 election.
The occupation of King Jaume's palacete was when his world started to fall apart, and the palacete will soon no longer be his. It is to be auctioned off as he cannot keep up with interest payments. By the time it is, his fate may have been decided. He continues to protest his innocence, but whatever the outcome of the trial, his vanity has been laid bare. Yet for all this, there are more questions to be asked. And one has to do with relationships with those who didn't do much by way of questioning.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
The inventory might not have been that remarkable had it been the inventory of one of Mallorca's regular filthy rich. But this was the home and the inventory of the former president of the Balearics. Estimates as to the value of the palacete vary, but it was said that some two million euros had been spent on renovations alone.
Jaume is now sitting in front of a judge who will decide his fate: the first of his fates, so many are the charges against him. Old friends are deserting him, coming to agreements with prosecutors in return for leniency and for dropping Jaume ever deeper into the mess of the vanity and folly that led him to a court in Palma.
Jaume. King Jaume V. With his palacete. A home fit for kings. The King of Mallorca and the Balearics who, like old kings of Mallorca, could dispense favours, some of which the prosecutors have shown an interest in, and who ruled with such power that no one seemed able or willing to question him or to question how he came to possess the trappings of such ostentatious wealth.
Among those who didn't question this wealth were the press. They might have wanted to, but they didn't. Nor did they question other aspects of Matas' second administration between 2003 and 2007. According to one of those who has testified at the Matas trial, there were rumours in journalistic circles regarding payments that the Matas government had been making to the journalist who is also on trial with Matas, Antonio Alemany. Rumours, but no more.
With hindsight, one now senses that the press were hinting at the questions that might have been asked when there were reports of the speedy way in which Matas left politics and left Mallorca for a job in the United States after he lost the election in 2007.
It was the election defeat that opened the door to investigations by anti-corruption prosecutors. But the door, again with hindsight, was ajar, if only slightly, even during Matas' time as president. It was the Andratx corruption case, one that involved the former mayor of the town and also a member of the then government, that first caused there to be a knock on the door.
Matas demanded to know of the Spanish national attorney-general why prosecutors were rummaging around in Mallorcan affairs. It didn't get him very far. But this was probably the beginning of what brought Matas and others to the court in Palma. Jaume's kingdom was being invaded, and once he was dethroned and had gone into American exile, the prosecutors' efforts gathered momentum.
In addition to his wealth, Matas also coveted the company of celebrities and of the famous. He sought the kudos of prestigious events and projects, not least the building of the Palma Arena velodrome, which is at the centre of the allegations against him. It is how over twice the budget for the arena came to be spent and who benefited that formed the basis of prosecutor investigations.
In seeking the company of the famous, the Royal Family became embroiled with King Jaume. He has now also been indicted in connection with the investigation of Iñaki Urdangarin, the Duke of Palma and the real King's son-in-law. As part of that investigation, it has been confirmed that an immediate payment of over 300,000 euros to the Duke's institute was agreed to a month before the 2007 election.
The occupation of King Jaume's palacete was when his world started to fall apart, and the palacete will soon no longer be his. It is to be auctioned off as he cannot keep up with interest payments. By the time it is, his fate may have been decided. He continues to protest his innocence, but whatever the outcome of the trial, his vanity has been laid bare. Yet for all this, there are more questions to be asked. And one has to do with relationships with those who didn't do much by way of questioning.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
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