Twenty years after the outbreak of the Nóos case, Infanta Cristina once again sees her name linked to an uncomfortable chapter. The publication of a bookreopens the debate about her role in that scheme. Judge José Castro once again places her at the center of criticism.
Although the Infanta was acquitted at trial, the mark of that process was never erased. The new revelations are proof of that. The scandal was a public and personal blow that still weighs on the Spanish royal family. The recent statements by Judge Castro reopen the wound and bring back to the present what many believed to be a completely closed chapter.
An anniversary that reopens old wounds
The memory of the Nóos case remains intact despite the passing years. The twentieth anniversary of the case has helped it return strongly to headlines across Spain. The publication of Judge Castro's new book has acted as a true trigger and has opened an episode that seemed completely closed.
The magistrate who led the investigation of the case has published a book with previously unpublished reflections. In the work, he compiles his most relevant and confidential conversations held throughout the process with the case's prosecutor, Pedro Horrach. The tone used in its pages is once again openly critical, direct, and uncompromising, once again pointing toward Infanta Cristina.
In 2015, King Felipe VI's sister sat in the dock. She was acquitted after denying knowledge of her husband's operations. Even so, for the judge her responsibility in the scheme remains evident.
The phrase that unsettles Iñaki
After the judge's latest statements in recent interviews, the former Duke of Palma has once again been indirectly singled out. Castro wanted to emphasize that, even though the case is closed, he keeps his view clear about who the real people involved were. According to the magistrate, there were people directly connected to the scheme who never ended up in prison.
So much so that the judge has even described the former Duke as someone who played "the role of the fall guy" in the scheme. While many were well aware of how that network operated, in the end only one person ended up sitting in the dock. These words could cause anxiety for Iñaki Urdangarin, who is trying to leave that episode behind and lead as normal a life as possible.
Consequences for the Urdangarin Borbón family
These new revelations from the judge affect not only Iñaki and Cristina, but also their children. Juan, Pablo, Miguel, and Irene grew up outside Spain for this reason. Exile in Switzerland allowed them to live far from the media spotlight and keep their children out of it.
Meanwhile, the royal household continues to keep its distance from Infanta Cristina since those years of the Nóos case. After the verdict, she was excluded from the official agenda of the Crown and lost any institutional representation within the family. Since then, her presence at public events alongside other members of the royalty has completely disappeared.