Tax Evasion: Former IMF Chief Rato Goes On Trial

Former International Monetary Fund Chief Rodrigo Rato, found guilty of embezzlement in 2018, faces a new trial in Madrid on charges of corruption, money laundering and tax dodging, with the prosecutor requesting a sentence of over 60 years in prison.

Rato, 74, was sentenced to a four-and -a half year jail term over the misuse of Bankia credit cards, which were used to buy jewels, holidays and expensive clothes. He served two years in prison and the rest in partial liberty.

A former Spanish deputy prime minister, he was acquitted in a separate fraud trial over the listing of Bankia in 2012.

The credit card case sparked widespread anger at a time when Spain was recovering from years of recession and a  banking crisis partly triggered by Bankia’s massive bailout.

The current investigation into his personal wealth, which started in 2015 when Spanish judges ordered a search of his Madrid home, follows an investigation into a kickback scheme.

REUTERS