Judge mulls targeting princess in Nóos case after receiving tax data

The judge investigating the alleged diversion of public money at the now-defunct Nóos Institute on Monday asked prosecutors, defense lawyers and other parties in the case whether he should call in Princess Cristina to testify as a target in the inquiry.

Palma de Mallorca Judge José Castro gave the parties five working days to file their briefs laying out their positions on the matter. He decided to consult with the affected parties after receiving a report from an AEAT Tax Agency inspection showing that the princess and her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, failed to pay 281,109 euros in taxes from the Aizoon real estate firm they jointly owned. Tax inspectors believe that is the sum the couple owes from 2007 to 2010.

Aizoon is one of the companies that prosecutors believe Urdangarin used to divert public funds he received at his non-profit Nóos Institute from the Balearic Islands and Valencia regional governments to set up sports and tourism conferences.

Anticorruption Prosecutor Pedro Horrach has stated that he is against calling in Princess Cristina because he said he has not found any indication of her having committed a crime.

This would not the first time that Castro has called in the princess to testify in the investigation. He ordered her to appear last April but anticorruption prosecutors successfully had the subpoena quashed through an appeal.