Spain ruling party moneyman quizzed in graft scandal

Prosecutors questioned a former treasurer of Spain's ruling party on Wednesday over allegations of corrupt payments implicating Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

Luis Barcenas went before an anti-corruption prosecutor investigating reports that he secretly channelled donations for the conservative Popular Party to Rajoy and other senior members.

Rajoy, Barcenas and the party have denied the allegations, which are based on account ledgers purportedly written by Barcenas and published in El Pais newspaper last week.

The scandal has sparked calls for the premier to resign. It erupted at a tense time as the government imposes tough budget cuts on Spaniards in a deep recession.

Angry onlookers yelled "Thief!" at Barcenas as he arrived at the prosecutor's office.

He made no comment to a crowd of reporters on arriving, nor on leaving after being questioned for two hours.

El Pais published ledgers it says were kept by Barcenas, apparently showing payments including 25,200 euros ($34,000) a year to Rajoy between 1997 and 2008.

The newspaper said Tuesday it had submitted the documents to the prosecutor's office.

The party has vowed to sue anyone who leaked or published the allegations.

Barcenas was already under investigation in connection with a separate corruption case, in which El Mundo newspaper reported that he had 22 million euros in a Swiss bank account.

The prosecutor on Wednesday also questioned another Popular Party figure, former member of parliament Jorge Trias.

Trias told El Pais last month that he knew of party leaders receiving payments on top of their salaries and that secret accounts were kept.

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http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130206/spain-ruling-party-moneyman-quizzed-graft-scandal-0