31/12/2011 00:00
TW
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Palma.—Riera explained that the period during which the alleged offences were committed was a boom time for Spain and the Balearics. “They were some of the best years thanks to tourism and the construction industry and it was also during that period when the then Partido Popular President of the Balearics, Jaume Matas, struck up a very close personal relationship with the Duke of Palma.

Royal friend “Matas also enjoyed having a close friend who was a member of the royal family who spend its summer holidays here every year. “What we have to wait and see is if the favours the Noos Institute received from the Balearics were legal loans or not and that is for the justice system to discover. “This is a very delicate case and we must remember that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. “It appears that it was the former Socialist led Balearic government which presented the anti-corruption prosecutors with the evidence against the Noos Institute as it looked to blame the previous Matas-led government for the economic crisis, so we have to tread carefully and let justice be allowed to follow its course.

Respect “And all this is now going on at a time when a new centre right government is having to solve the major problems facing the Balearics and Spain. “We must respect the judge and the court's decisions and wait and see what happens next month.”