Iñaki Urdangarin, the husband of Infanta Cristina of Spain and brother-in-law to King Felipe, has gotten a Christmas reprieve to spend the holiday out of prison with his family.
Urdangarin has been granted permission by the court, under Article 47.2 of the General Penitentiary Organic Law, to leave prison for four days to spend Christmas with his wife and their four children. He will leave prison on Christmas Eve and will return on 28 December to Brieva.
This decision has angered opponents of the monarchy.
It is not likely that Infanta Cristina, Iñaki Urdangarin, and their children will spend time with King Felipe, Queen Letizia and their two daughters. They may spend a little time with Cristina’s parents, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía, but this has not been confirmed.
Iñaki entered prison last year after Spain’s Supreme Court upheld his prison sentence but lowered Infanta Cristina’s fine for their involvement in the Noose case. The verdict in the case was announced in February 2017. Infanta Cristina of Spain was found not guilty of corruption charges following a lengthy trial in Palma de Mallorca for corruption and money fraud. However, Iñaki was convicted and sentenced to six years and three months.
Cristina and Iñaki were accused of defrauding taxpayers of funds through embezzlement and money laundering in excess of £4.5 million through the non-profit organisation the Noos Institute. Infanta Cristina was a member of the board, and Iñaki served as the director.
Specifically, Cristina was accused of using money from the organisation for personal expenses. Iñaki was arraigned on charges of tax fraud and money laundering. He and his business partner Diego Torres have been accused of hugely overcharging two regional governments (The Balearic Islands and Valencia) that participated in different sporting events organised by the Noos Institute.
Iñaki and Cristina used to hold the titles of Duke and Duchess of Palma de Mallorca after their 1997 wedding. However, the titles were revoked after the scandal broke in 2015. Cristina’s title as infanta and place in the line of succession were not affected.
