Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Rajoy has tried to distance himself from the accusations swirling around his party

Mariano Rajoy has become the first sitting Spanish prime minister to testify in court as he denied any knowledge of an alleged illegal financing scheme within his Popular Party (PP).

Mr Rajoy said his role at the party was political and strategic, not financial.

The prosecution claims that during the pre-2008 property boom, companies gave former PP lawmakers and civil servants kickbacks in return for contracts.

Mr Rajoy is not accused of wrongdoing.

His request to testify at the trial in the Madrid suburb of San Fernando by video link was denied. But he was seated on the same platform as the judges, not in the traditional witness stand.

Thirty-seven people, including three former PP treasurers, are on trial in the case that centres around the alleged ringleader, businessman Francisco Correa. Correa is already serving a 13-year sentence for influence peddling and bribery, and could face up to 125 years.

The so-called Gürtel case has electrified Spain for years, after being exposed by Ana Garrido, a civil servant in a Madrid suburb.

Mr Rajoy became leader of the PP in 2004 and held senior positions before then. But on Wednesday he testily insisted he had no friendly relations with Correa and "never dealt with party financial matters".

Nonetheless, Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez called for him to resign to retain his "dignity", reported Efe news agency.

Mr Sánchez has described Mr Rajoy as the "primary political leader" at a time of a "generalised climate of corruption".

Mr Rajoy is not personally accused of wrongdoing but his appearance in court remains a major embarrassment for a prime minister who has continually sought to distance himself from the accusations swirling around his party, correspondents say.

Outside the court, some 30 protesters blew whistles and held placards demanding "Justice" and "Make the PP illegal", reported AFP news agency.</s>Spanish PM Rajoy heads to court as witness in corruption trial

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy holds a book written by Venezuelan jailed politician, Leopoldo Lopez as he attends a meeting with his relatives at the Moncloa palace in Madrid on March 1, 2016. — Reuters picMADRID, July 26 — Mariano Rajoy will today become Spain’s first sitting prime minister to be called to court as he appears as a witness in a long-running graft trial that has rocked his conservative party and hurt him at the ballot box.

Rajoy returned to power for a second term last October with a severely diminished mandate, after a series of corruption scandals tainted several members of his People’s Party (PP) and turned off voters.

The prime minister’s court appearance turns the spotlight back on one of the most prominent cases at a delicate time for Rajoy, who no longer enjoys a majority in parliament and has to scrape together votes to get laws through.

He had sought to testify by videoconference, arguing that the journey to the court of San Fernando de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid would be a waste of taxpayer money. But the request was denied by Spain’s High Court.

The trial follows a long graft investigation into several city councils which are alleged to have received illegal financing from a network of companies.

Known in Spanish as the “Gurtel” case, after the nickname of supposed mastermind and businessman Francisco Correa, the probe ended up reaching several former high-ranking PP members and drew attention to an alleged party slush fund.

Former PP party treasurer, Luis Barcenas, is among those on trial on charges of organised crime, falsifying accounts, influence-peddling and tax crimes.

Rajoy is expected to be grilled about the alleged slush fund and his knowledge of party business in the early 2000s, when he held several senior positions in the PP.

He has previously denied receiving any illegal funds.

The prime minister has sought to distance himself over the years from this probe and other corruption scandals, but his turn as a witness is likely to be seized upon by opposition parties who have repeatedly called for him to step down.

That is unlikely to have any immediate consequences — left-wing parties including the Socialists and Podemos (“We Can”) have failed in their bids to oust Rajoy before, as they lack the clout in parliament and are divided on many fronts.

But it could still be damaging for the prime minister and his party.

“Corruption issues will continue to put a ceiling on the PP’s electoral aspirations,” Antonio Barroso, deputy director of research at Teneo Intelligence said in a note.

“While Rajoy should be benefiting from (Spain’s) strong economic rebound, the ruling party has been losing support in the polls recently.” — Reuters</s>Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy denied any knowledge of an illegal financing scheme within his conservative Popular Party as he testified as a witness at a major graft trial Wednesday.

Rajoy gave his testimony in sometimes bad-tempered exchanges as dozens of protesters outside the court blew whistles and held banners reading "Make the PP illegal".

This was the first time a serving prime minister in Spain has testified in a criminal case.

The trial centres on a vast kickback scheme that allegedly saw companies shower former PP lawmakers and civil servants with bribes in exchange for contracts and helped fund the party.

Rajoy is not accused of anything himself but was asked to testify because as the party's chief since 2004 -- and a high-ranking member before that -- he would have knowledge of how the PP operated.

"I never dealt with party economic affairs," Rajoy told the court during the proceedings broadcast live on Spanish television.

There was a "clear separation" between political and economic party matters within the PP and that his responsibilities were always "of the political sort", he added.

Rajoy, 62, arrived by car at the National Court compound in San Hernando de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid. Although he had asked to testify by video-conference, saying he was too busy to appear in person, Spain's High Court had ordered him to attend.

Rajoy did not sit in the traditional witness stand in front of the judges, but instead answered questions -- sometimes testily -- from the elevated platform where the three magistrates sat.

Two former premiers -- Felipe Gonzalez, an ex-Socialist leader, and Adolfo Suarez, prime minister during Spain's transition to democracy -- appeared in court in separate trials but they are no longer in office.

Altogether, 37 defendants are on trial in the case including two former party treasurers and businessman Francisco Correa, the alleged head of the network.

Companies would allegedly give him a commission of two to three percent on the value of public contracts.

Correa said in court that he would then give politicians involved in awarding contracts some of the money.

His main accomplice was allegedly Luis Barcenas, a former PP manager and treasurer who was once close to Rajoy.

Barcenas is accused of setting up a slush fund to top up the salaries of PP leaders. He has said he made payments to top party members, including Rajoy.

But during his testimony on Wednesday, Rajoy reiterated that he had never met Correa and he dismissed the allegations of secret payments to PP officials as "absolutely false".

Asked in court whether he knew if there was an illegal financing scheme within the party or cash donations from anonymous donors, Rajoy said: "Never."

The court appearance was a major embarrassment for Rajoy, who has sought to distance himself from a series of corruption scandals that have hounded the party and contributed to the PP losing its absolute majority in the 2015 election.

Analysts said corruption scandals are preventing the PP from reaping the benefits of the strengthening Spanish economy.

"Corruption issues will continue to put a ceiling on the PP's electoral aspirations," Antonio Barroso, deputy director of research at Teneo Intelligence, said in a note.

"While Rajoy should be benefiting from the strong economic rebound, the ruling party has been losing support in the polls recently."

Opposition parties seized on the court appearance to renew their calls for Rajoy to resign.

The leader of the main opposition Socialists, Pedro Sanchez, accused Rajoy of "hiding in a fog of ignorance".

"For dignity, not yours but of democracy, I demand on the part of the Socialists that you resign," he added.

After his court appearance, Rajoy visited the PP's headquarters in central Madrid where he was greeted with applause.

"I replied with what I knew, I am glad to have cooperated with the court," he said.</s>Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy testified in court on Wednesday as a witness in a graft trial and said he had no knowledge of the alleged illegal financing scheme that helped fund his Popular Party.</s>SAN FERNANDO DE HENARES, Spain (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday denied any knowledge of an illegal financing scheme within his conservative People's Party (PP) and said he not taken any illicit payments, as he testified in court in a long-running corruption case.

Rajoy is the first sitting premier in Spain to be called to court as a witness. The trial centers on graft allegations involving businesses and small city councils, but it has tainted the PP and led to allegations of a slush fund within the party.

Asked in court whether he knew whether there was an illegal financing scheme for election campaigns within the party and cash donations from anonymous donors, a combative Rajoy said: "Never."

"I never heard anything because, as I have stated, I was never in charge of financial matters within the party," Rajoy said.</s>related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

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Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday denied any knowledge of an illegal financing scheme within his conservative People's Party (PP) and said he not taken any illicit payments, as he testified in court in a long-running corruption case.

SAN FERNANDO DE HENARES, Spain: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday denied any knowledge of an illegal financing scheme within his conservative People's Party (PP) and said he not taken any illicit payments, as he testified in court in a long-running corruption case.

Rajoy is the first sitting premier in Spain to be called to court as a witness. The trial centres on graft allegations involving businesses and small city councils, but it has tainted the PP and led to allegations of a slush fund within the party.

Asked in court whether he knew whether there was an illegal financing scheme for election campaigns within the party and cash donations from anonymous donors, a combative Rajoy said: "Never."

"I never heard anything because, as I have stated, I was never in charge of financial matters within the party," Rajoy said.</s>Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has told the country's National Court he did not know anything about the ruling Popular Party's accounting practices when a corrupt scheme allegedly helped fund it.

Wednesday's highly-anticipated hearing was the first time that a prime minister has appeared in court while holding office since Spain transitioned to democracy four decades ago.

Mr Rajoy himself is not accused of wrongdoing, but the court called him to provide evidence as the party's vice secretary general until 2003, and its secretary general until 2004, when the illegal funding scheme was allegedly still operating.

"I never took care of the economic issues in the party. I was devoted to political activity," Mr Rajoy told the three magistrates during the proceeding.

Businesspeople, elected officials and other Popular Party members, including two former treasurers, are among the 37 accused of bribery, money laundering and tax evasion in the "Gurtel case", named after the German translation for belt.

The Spanish word for belt is also the last name of Francisco Correa, a businessman arrested in 2009 who is the key defendant in the case, considered one of the largest corruption scandals in the country's modern history.

Correa faces a 125-year prison sentence if found guilty of controlling the network of aides and companies that arranged free events for the party in exchange for public contracts.

Mr Rajoy arrived in a convoy at the tightly secured National Court compound in San Fernando de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid.

Close by but out of Mr Rajoy's sight, around 100 protesters held banners accusing the conservative party of covering up corruption. Some signs read "Mafia out, democracy in".

In an apparent attempt to underscore that he is a witness and not a defendant, Mr Rajoy gave evidence seated at a table on the stage at the same level as the three magistrates - not standing in front of them as is customary.

Mr Rajoy repeated what he had said earlier: that he never met Correa and he was the one, as party president in 2004, who ordered a halt to contracting with Correa's companies upon learning that they were misusing the conservative party's name.

The trial is part of a wider probe into illegal party funding reflected in hidden accounting kept by Luis Barcenas, the party treasurer for almost three decades.

In the most damaging allegations to date, Barcenas has said there was always a scheme of illegal contributions to the Popular Party and that top officials were aware. The party and Mr Rajoy have denied his claims.

Mr Rajoy called allegations that high-ranking party officials received illegal bonuses "absolutely false". He explained that some received additional payments from the Popular Party to their salaries as legislators - money he said was taxed. He said those payments were halted as soon as any of the politicians took a position in the government.

As prime minister, Mr Rajoy has made economic growth and job creation his chief goals since the party returned to power in 2011. In June, he won a no-confidence debate called against him by Podemos, a left-wing opposition party, because of the myriad of corruption scandals involving the Popular Party.</s>Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, became the first serving Spanish premier to testify in a criminal case on Wednesday when he emphatically denied any knowledge of an illegal funding racket within the ruling People’s party.

Rajoy, the PP’s vice secretary general between 1990 and 2003, had been called to give evidence in the Gürtel case, in which 37 business and political figures were accused of involvement in a kickbacks-for-contracts scheme.

The prime minister is not accused of any wrongdoing, but the case has become emblematic of the many corruption scandals that have engulfed the PP over recent years.

Rajoy, who appeared as a witness in the long-running trial, insisted that his duties during the period in question were exclusively political and not financial. He said he had not been aware of the illegal financing scheme or cash donations from anonymous backers.

“I never heard anything because, as I have said, I was never in charge of financial matters within the party,” he told the court. Rajoy said there had been a clear division between his role in planning local, national and European election campaigns, and the activities of the PP’s financial officers.

Among the accused is the former PP treasurer Luis Bárcenas, once a close ally of Rajoy, who has claimed that high-level party officials knew about the illegal contributions.

In often fractious exchanges with lawyers, Rajoy said suggestions that a slush fund was used to pay illegal bonuses to senior PP officials were “absolutely false”.

He explained that “quite a lot” of the party’s MPs had had their salaries topped up by the PP – and had declared the sums to the tax authorities – but said such payments ceased when they took up a government post.

Rajoy was also asked about the supportive text messages he sent Bárcenas after his ally found himself in legal trouble. They famously told him to “be strong” and suggested the party was “doing what we can”.

Invited to explain what he had meant, Rajoy replied: “I’m in the habit of replying to messages and he had my number. I could have used that phrase or any other one; it doesn’t mean anything.”

He went on: “‘We’re doing what we can’ means precisely that we’re doing what we can; it means we didn’t do anything that might have prejudiced any trial.”

Rajoy’s arrival at the court in San Fernando de Henares was met with a battery of journalists and dozens of protesters bearing signs reading: “Justice! Justice!” and “Mafia Out! Democracy in!”

The case is known as Gürtel after the codename that detectives gave their anti-corruption inquiry, which centred on Francisco Correa, a businessman with close ties to the PP who is accused of paying bribes to party officials between 1999 and 2006 in return for contracts to carry out public contracts. Gürtel is the German translation of correa (belt).

Rajoy told the court he had severed the party’s relationship with Correa’s businesses in 2004 after learning that the businessman had been misusing the party’s name.

He added: “The truth is I didn’t know [Correa]. But I’m absolutely sure that I saw him at a public event once. I had absolutely no dealings with him.”

Correa – who enjoyed being called Don Vito in reference to the Marlon Brando character in The Godfather – is accused of misusing public funds and setting up offshore accounts to keep millions of euros at a safe remove.



The scandal which has enveloped the PP since 2009 led to the resignation three years ago of the health minister, Ana Mato. Her ex-husband, Jesús Sepúlveda, is on trial for embezzlement, fraud and peddling influence while mayor of Pozuelo de Alarcón, west of Madrid.

The family is alleged to have accepted holidays, presents including Louis Vuitton products, a Jaguar and even children’s birthday parties at which clowns performed from Correa’s companies.

The leader of Spain’s opposition parties were quick to attack Rajoy’s performance in the witness box.

Pedro Sanchez, head of the Spanish socialist party, said it was a “black day for our democracy. For the first time, a prime minister has had to sit down and testify about corruption in his party.”



Two of Rajoy’s predecessors – Adolfo Suárez and Felipe González – were involved in separate trials but only after serving as prime minister.

Pablo Iglesias, leader of the anti-austerity Podemos party, criticised Rajoy for the “insolent” tone of some of his replies, tweeting: “Spain doesn’t deserve this disgrace. We need to get them out of government.”</s>Mariano Rajoy has become the first sitting Spanish prime minister to testify in court as he denied any knowledge of an alleged illegal financing scheme within his Popular Party (PP).

Mr Rajoy said his role at the party was political and strategic, not financial.

The prosecution claims that during the pre-2008 property boom, companies gave former PP lawmakers and civil servants kickbacks in return for contracts.

Mr Rajoy is not accused of wrongdoing.

His request to testify at the trial in the Madrid suburb of San Fernando by video link was denied.

Thirty-seven people, including three former PP treasurers, are on trial in the case that centres around the alleged ringleader, businessman Francisco Correa. Correa is already serving a 13-year sentence for influence peddling and bribery, and could face up to 125 years.

The so-called Gürtel case has electrified Spain for years, after being exposed by Ana Garrido, a civil servant in a Madrid suburb.
• Ana Garrido: Whistle-blower who took on Spain's ruling elite

Mr Rajoy became leader of the PP in 2004 and held senior positions before then. But on Wednesday he testily insisted he had no friendly relations with Correa and "never dealt with party financial matters".

Mr Rajoy is not personally accused of wrongdoing but his appearance in court remains a major embarrassment for a prime minister who has continually sought to distance himself from the accusations swirling around his party, correspondents say.

Outside the court, some 30 protesters blew whistles and held placards demanding "Justice" and "Make the PP illegal", reported AFP news agency.</s>Although he tried very hard to get out of it and although is he is not accused of any wrongdoing, Mariano Rajoy has testified in court this morning (Wednesday) making him the very first Spanish Prime Minister ever to do so.

His appearance is in relation to “The Gurtel Case”, Spain’s biggest ever corruption scandal, a trial that involves 37 defendants, including 3 former PP Treasurers, and over 300 witnesses, and one which involves the relationship between business and politics during Spain’s construction boom, which ended when the property bubble finally exploded in 2008.

Rajoy has been summoned because the affair centres round a former businessman, Francisco Correa, who liked to be called Don Vito, after a character in The Godfather, and who is considered to be the mastermind behind the bribes-for-contracts network, a large corruption scheme that has been affecting the PP since 2009.

Mariano Rajoy became leader of the Partido Popular in 2004 prior to which he held many senior positions in the party. During his appearance in court he insisted he had no friendly relations with Correa and “never dealt with party financial matters”.

The prosecution claims that during the pre-2008 property boom, companies gave former PP lawmakers and civil servants kickbacks in return for contracts.

Earlier in the year, Correa and two top aides were found guilty in connection with a section of the Gürtel case known as Fitur that involved embezzlement, influence peddling, bribery of public officials and conspiracy in the Valencia region. They were sentenced to prison terms of 13 years each.

Meanwhile, outside the court, over 30 protesters blew whistles and held placards demanding “Justice” and “Make the PP illegal”.
Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, testify in Audiencia Nacional as a witness in the framework of the investigation into the Gürtel corruption scandal, of the illegal financing of his party. He is the first PM in Spain in service to attend a trial. Although he benefited from this corruption scheme, he denied any knowledge. This situation prompted a no-confidence motion against Rajoy's government, which was debated on 13 June and defeated as expected on 14 June (BBC)