Spanish ex-minister jailed on massive corruption charges

Mar 30, 2010, 11:55 GMT

Palma de Majorca, Spain - A judge in Palma de Majorca on Tuesday ordered preventative prison for a former Spanish minister in a new corruption scandal hitting the Balearic Islands and Spain's opposition conservatives.

Jaume Matas, 53, can only avoid being jailed if he pays a bail of 3 million euros (4 million dollars), one of the highest in Spanish judicial history.

Matas should be jailed while his case is being investigated, because there is a risk of him fleeing to the United States, where he now lives, the judge argued.

The judge also seized the passports of Matas and his brother-in- law, who is a former treasurer of the conservative People's Party (PP) in the Balearic Islands. Both men were prohibited from leaving Spain.

Matas faces up to 24 years in prison for nine corruption-related offences including embezzlement, peddling of political favours, money-laundering, bribery and falsifying documents.

Matas was environment minister from 2000 to 2003 in then-prime minister Jose Maria Aznar's conservative government.

He then governed the Balearic Islands - a popular tourist destination - as regional prime minister from 2003 to 2007, a period during which he is suspected of illegally amassing a fortune.

The fortune worth millions of euros allegedly included a luxurious mansion in Palma de Majorca as well as two other homes in Majorca and Madrid.

Matas is also suspected of using illegal funds to finance his election campaign as the PP candidate in the Balearic Islands.

The charges against Matas are partly related to the construction of a sports complex, for which the initial cost estimates more than doubled to over 100 million euros.

The conservative PP, which is Spain's main opposition party, has avoided siding with Matas, after having been tarnished by an even bigger corruption scandal recently.

The judiciary is investigating the so-called Guertel affair in which PP politicians allegedly took bribes from entrepreneurs in several regions.

On Monday, the PP accepted Matas' request to temporarily suspend his party membership.

The Balearic Islands have been hit by a string of corruption scandals. In one of the most high-profile cases, regional parliament president Maria Antonia Munar - member of a local Majorca party - resigned over corruption charges in February.

Matas and Munar deny the allegations against them.