New revelations from the former treasurer of Spainâs Popular Party (PP), Luis Bárcenas, who is serving a 29-year sentence over a sweeping graft case known as Gürtel, could affect the outcome of a new trial probing an illegal funding system run by the conservative group.
In February 2013, EL PAÃS revealed the existence of secret handwritten ledgers that became known as the âBárcenas papers.â These accounts showed cash donations and outgoing payments from 1990 to 2008 that suggested irregular payments and salaries within the PP. The parallel accounting appeared to reflect unlawful corporate donations as well as regular kickbacks to senior party officials. None of this money was declared to the tax authorities.