By Dave Jamieson
KING Felipe’s younger sister Princess Cristina will stand trial for her alleged involvement in the tax offences with which her husband, Iñaki Udangarín, has been charged. Her lawyers were hoping to invoke a legal procedure which excuses an alleged offender from appearing in the dock if only a private criminal prosecution has been brought.
However, the provincial court in the Balearic Islands last Friday ruled out application of the so-called Botín doctrine, describing the Princess as a “necessary co-operator” in the two tax frauds which face her husband. It argued that the case is not simply a crime involving Spain’s tax authority, but one which affects the State as a whole.
