A Fairy Tale Gone Wrong: Spain's Princess Accused Of Fraud
It seemed like a fairy-tale romance. The Spanish king's youngest daughter, Infanta Cristina, went to the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, and fell in love with a handsome Spanish aristocrat-turned-Olympian, Iaki Urdangarin. A year later, King Juan Carlos walked his daughter down the aisle.
Through marriage, Urdangarin got a royal title — the Duke of Palma — and carried his bride over the threshold of an $8 million dollar mansion in Barcelona.
But the fairy tale has since unraveled.
"I think if you came back home, as Iaki must have done, and said, 'Darling, we've just bought this $8 million dollar house in Barcelona,' you presumably would ask your husband, 'Well, can we afford it?'" said William Chislett, a British author and researcher at the Elcano Royal Institute in Madrid. "And I would assume that Infanta either didn't ask, didn't want to ask — or simply assumed that they had the money."
They apparently didn't, or, as prosecutors claim, it wasn't their money.
Urdangarin had sought to parlay his Olympic success (two bronze medals in handball) into a career running a non-profit foundation that organized sports events and conventions. But he stands accused of embezzling $8 million through that work.
The couple's Barcelona mansion has been confiscated by Spanish authorities, in lieu of bail money for Urdangarin.
And this Saturday, the princess is scheduled to appear in court on allegations of tax fraud and money-laundering tied to her alleged involvement in her husband's business.
i i