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| Spain Holds Former Party Treasurer in Tax Investigation | Spain Holds Former Party Treasurer in Tax Investigation |
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| MADRID — The former treasurer of Spain’s ruling Popular Party, Luis Bárcenas, was in prison on Friday as part of a tax fraud investigation after a judge decided that he presented a flight risk. | MADRID — The former treasurer of Spain’s ruling Popular Party, Luis Bárcenas, was in prison on Friday as part of a tax fraud investigation after a judge decided that he presented a flight risk. |
| Judge Pablo Ruz ordered late Thursday that Mr. Bárcenas be held without bail until a possible trial. No date has been set. | Judge Pablo Ruz ordered late Thursday that Mr. Bárcenas be held without bail until a possible trial. No date has been set. |
| The former treasurer has been at the center of a widening corruption investigation that is threatening to implicate the leadership of the party, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. | The former treasurer has been at the center of a widening corruption investigation that is threatening to implicate the leadership of the party, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. |
| In January, Swiss authorities informed Spanish officials that Mr. Bárcenas had amassed millions in secret bank accounts. Since then, the total has risen to about 47 million euros, or about $61 milliion, officials say, and prosecutors are investigating whether Mr. Bárcenas had undeclared funds hidden in countries like the United States and Uruguay. | |
| Mr. Bárcenas spent Thursday night in the Soto del Real prison outside Madrid. His lawyers said they would appeal the judge’s decision and argue that their client was not a flight risk. | |
| Mr. Rajoy, informed of the jailing while attending a European summit meeting in Brussels, had no immediate comment. | |
| Mr. Bárcenas is being investigated for various alleged irregularities, but the most serious allegation is that he ran a slush fund that made regular payments to Mr. Rajoy and other senior party officials. | Mr. Bárcenas is being investigated for various alleged irregularities, but the most serious allegation is that he ran a slush fund that made regular payments to Mr. Rajoy and other senior party officials. |
| The money-laundering inquiry is also focusing on whether the former treasurer was linked to a network of businessmen who allegedly made secret payments and gave gifts to politicians in exchange for public contracts. | The money-laundering inquiry is also focusing on whether the former treasurer was linked to a network of businessmen who allegedly made secret payments and gave gifts to politicians in exchange for public contracts. |