Spain's ruling party caught up in corruption trial

Luis Barcenas
Luis Barcenas
By Euronews  with Reuters

The former treasurer of Spain's ruling People's Party, Luis Barcenas, has been jailed for his part in a corruption case that has also ensnared dozens of other high-ranking party members.

The former treasurer of Spain's ruling People's Party, Luis Barcenas, has been jailed for his part in a corruption case that has also ensnared dozens of other high-ranking party members.

The case has plagued Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was called as a witness last year and asked about renovations to the party HQ.

''I am completely unaware of how the construction bills were paid because I didn’t handle any financial issues, as I have repeated on numerous occasions,’’ Rajoy told the court.

Barcenas was sentenced to 33 years in prison and fined 44 million euros for money laundering, personal enrichment and a number of tax crimes.

Twenty-nine of the 37 party members were sentenced to a combined 351 years behind bars.

The case became known as the "Gurtel case" after the nickname of Francisco Correa, a businessman seen as the head of the kickback scheme.

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