Treasury ordered to turn over Princess Cristina’s tax returns for the last 10 years

A judge on Thursday asked Treasury officials to hand over copies of Princess Cristina’s income tax returns for the past 10 years as he tries to determine whether the Royal Family member benefited in some way from the alleged diversion of public money from her husband’s Nóos Institute.

The princess was officially named a target in the investigation earlier this month, but the subpoena commanding her to testify in court on April 27 was put on hold as prosecutors and her lawyers appeal the judge’s decision to call her in.

Palma de Mallorca Judge José Castro is investigating whether Cristina’s husband Iñaki Urdangarin skimmed off money given to his non-profit entity by the Balearics government to organize sports and tourism events and funnel funds to his private businesses, including a real estate firm Aizóon, which he co-owned with his wife.

Manos Limpias, an obscure rightwing labor union, has appeared as a party in the investigation by filing a people’s complaint against the princess. Lawyers for the union asked Judge Castro to subpoena Princess Cristina’s tax records.

The royal couple filed individual tax returns, but besides the real estate firm they both jointly owned their mansion in Pedralbes de Barcelona, for which they paid 5.8 million euros in 2004. The house has since been put on the rental market.

A string of emails given to the judge by Urdangarin’s former business partner Diego Torres, who has also been officially named as a suspect in the case, show that the royal son-in-law was advising his wife on some of his business dealings at the Nóos.

Cristina served as a board member at the Nóos, but Urdangarin has testified that she had no decision-making role in the day-to-day affairs at the non-profit entity.