Urdangarin calls Royal Household witnesses

Iñaki Urdangarin, the husband of Princess Cristina and so the brother-in-law of King Felipe, has called for Fernando Almansa and Alberto Aza, two former chiefs of staff at the Royal Household, to be witnesses in his defence at the trial brought about by the “caso Noos” (the investigation into the Noos Institute in which Urdangarin was a partner).
Urdangarin, for whom the state prosecutor is demanding a 19.5 year sentence for, among other things, the trafficking of influence, fraud and money laundering, also wants the Royal Household’s adviser, Jose Manuel Romero, the Count of Fontao, to testify. Romero and Aza have also been called as witnesses by the prosecution.
Urdangarin, also known of course by his title the Duke of Palma, has named more than 300 people that he is seeking as witnesses in his written submission to the investigating judge, Jose Castro.
Among these 300 are the former secretary to the king’s two sisters, the princesses Cristina and Elena, Carlos Garcia Revenga, the one-time mayor of Madrid and national Minister of Justice, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon, the ex-president of the Valencian Government, Francisco Camps and the former vice-premier of Spain Rodrigo Rato, who last week was himself arrested as the consequence of an investigation not related to Noos.
The Duke’s defence believes that the facts of the case “do not constitute any crime” and that claims of tax fraud amount to no more than administrative infractions.  His lawyer insists that there were no fraudulent or illegal activities.