Spain's Attorney General on Trial

A case against the country's attorney general will begin in the Supreme Court of Spain. Alvaro Garcia Ortiz is accused of disclosing confidential information in a tax fraud case, BNR reported.

After eight months of investigation, Judge Angel Hurtado issued an order to begin a trial against Spain's number one prosecutor. Hurtado's decision cannot be appealed, and the Supreme Court's Criminal Chamber is set to set a date for the start of a trial that is unprecedented in nearly 50 years.

The judge refused to temporarily suspend Alvaro García Ortiz from office, but gave him five days to post a bond of 150,000 euros to cover any financial obligations that may be imposed on him in the event of a conviction.

The chief prosecutor is being investigated for leaking information to the media in a tax fraud case against Alberto Amador, partner of Madrid regional premier Isabel Díaz Ayuso. According to the indictment, Ortiz shared with the media an email sent by Amador's lawyer to the prosecutor overseeing the case. In the letter, the lawyer admits that his client committed two crimes against the treasury and proposes a deal that would spare him an effective sentence.

The government of Pedro Sánchez appointed Álvaro García Ortiz to the post in 2022.