Spanish ruling party fined in major corruption case
MADRID — The conviction of more than two dozen Spanish businesspeople and officials in a major corruption scandal triggered political turmoil Thursday after the court ruled that the country’s governing party benefited from the biggest kickbacks-for-contracts scheme in four decades of democratic rule.
The National Court’s decision is a significant blow for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party, which was fined 245,000 euros (US$ 287,000) over the illegal scheme that was in place between 1999 and 2005. It is the first such conviction for a Spanish political party.
The leader of the Ciudadanos party that has so far backed the PP in parliament announced that his party will consider revising its support, saying Thursday’s judicial decision “changes everything.”
“The situation is grave because Spaniards deserve stability, but also cleanliness,” Albert Rivera said.