Verdict due Friday in Spanish royals' fraud trial
Princess Cristina of Spain, the country's first royal to face criminal charges since the monarchy's 1975 restoration, will learn Friday the verdict from her trial over claims she helped her husband evade taxes.
The court in Palma, on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, said Thursday that the verdict for Cristina and her husband Inaki Urdangarin would be announced at 12:00 p.m. (11:00 GMT).
If convicted, 51-year-old Cristina -- the sister of King Felipe VI -- faces a prison term of up to eight years.
Urdangarin, who was charged with the more serious crimes of embezzlement, influence peddling, forgery and money laundering, could face more than 19 years in prison and a 980,000 euros ($1 million) fine.
The couple, who have been married since 1997 and have four children together, went on trial along with 15 others last year in a case that has sullied the reputation of the monarchy and become a symbol of perceived corruption among Spain's elites.
The case centres on accusations that Urdangarin, a former Olympic handball medallist, used his royal connections to win inflated public contracts to stage sporting and other events, and then syphoned off the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle.
He and his former business partner Diego Torres are accused of embezzling about six million euros ($6.4 million) in public money that was paid to the Noos Institute to organise events.
One of the companies that allegedly benefited from Noos was Aizoon, a real estate firm that Urdangarin owned with Cristina, the youngest daughter of former king Juan Carlos I, who abdicated in June 2014.
Aizoon has been labelled a "front company" in court documents.