Top Spanish Prosecutor Found Guilty in Confidential Information Leak
In an unprecedented legal ruling, Spain's serving attorney general Álvaro García Ortiz has been convicted and banned from his post for two years after the Supreme Court found him guilty of leaking confidential information about a tax case. The verdict represents a significant blow to Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who had publicly defended García Ortiz's innocence.
Details of the Case and Verdict
Álvaro García Ortiz, who has served as Spain's attorney general since 2022, becomes the first sitting holder of the office to stand trial and be convicted. The Supreme Court announced on Thursday that he had been found guilty of disclosing personal details about businessman Alberto González Amador to journalists while the businessman was under investigation for alleged tax fraud.
The court imposed a two-year ban from office along with a €7,300 (£6,428) fine and ordered García Ortiz to pay €10,000 in damages to González Amador. Throughout the proceedings, the attorney general had consistently denied the allegations, maintaining that he neither leaked the information nor ordered it to be leaked.
The case gained significant political attention because González Amador is the partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the prominent right-wing populist politician who serves as Madrid's regional president and has been one of Sánchez's most vocal critics. Ayuso, a member of the People's party (PP), had claimed the information was deliberately leaked to damage her reputation.
Political Fallout and Wider Implications
The conviction comes at a particularly difficult time for Prime Minister Sánchez, who faces increasing pressure due to multiple corruption investigations involving his family members and political allies. Sánchez had previously expressed confidence in García Ortiz's innocence, making the Supreme Court's verdict especially damaging.
Government sources indicated that while they respect the court's decision, they disagree with the verdict and expressed gratitude for García Ortiz's service. The process to select his replacement is expected to begin in the coming days.
The case has reignited debates about the politicisation of Spain's judiciary, with Sánchez having previously claimed that "there are judges doing politics and there are politicians trying to do justice." Opposition leaders have seized on the verdict, with PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo calling it an "anomaly" that will "weigh on Sánchez forever" and far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal making even stronger accusations against the prime minister.
This conviction adds to the challenges facing Sánchez's administration, which came to power promising to combat corruption but now confronts multiple graft allegations involving close associates, including the recent resignation of his right-hand man Santos Cerdán following a Supreme Court investigation into kickback allegations.
