Nóos case

No. 224 Balmes Street in Barcelona, on the fourth floor of which were located Aizoon and Baf Tejeiro's social headquarters, the tax-advice office of Diego Torres' siblings-in-law

The Nóos case, also known as the Babel operation,^[1] is an ongoing case of alleged political corruption in Spain that started in 2010 as a derived case from the Palma Arena case, when the leaders of the Nóos Institute, Iñaki Urdangarin, then Duke of Palma de Mallorca, and his ex-associate Diego Torres, were accused of corruption. They were accused of embezzlement, perverting the course of justice, falsification and money laundering, stemming from their setting up of a nonprofit foundation, Nóos, along with a corporate network of associated companies.

The accused

In the act dictated by the judge attendant of the Palma Arena case, José Castro, in December 2011, nine persons were imputed.^[2] In 2013, after the confessions of one of the accused, Diego Torres, the list increased to 10. The main defendants are:

• José Luis Ballester Tuliesa, "Pepote" Ballester (born in 1968), ex-Olympic sailor, managing director of Sports of the Government of the Balearic Islands.
• Carlos García Revenga (born in 1955), private secretary of the infantas and member of the patronate of the Queen Sofía Foundation. Licensed in Pedagogics, and Schoolteachers, former teacher of the Santa María del Camino college (Puerto del Hierro, Madrid). Imputed since February 2013.^[3][4]
• Jaume Matas i Palou (Palma de Mallorca, 1956), former Balearic president. Under his term the regional executive ordered to Nóos Institute the organization of two forums about tourism and sport from which Urdangarín's company supposedly pocketed €2.3 million between 2005 and 2006. He was one of the first imputees.
• Iñaki Urdangarín Liebaert (born on 15 January 1968), former handball player and husband of the infanta of Spain, Cristina de Borbón, daughter of King Juan Carlos I. He has been facing charges since 2012.^[2]
• Miguel Zorío, owner of the company Communication Lobby and usual collaborator to Urdangarín and Torres as from 2004, when he managed the Valencia Summit, a sports summit that Nóos performed to the Valencian government.
• Cristina de Borbón y Grecia, Infanta of Spain (born on 13 June 1965), then Duchess of Palma, daughter of King Juan Carlos I of Spain. Imputed since April 2013.^[5]

References

1. Manresa, Andreu; Jesús García (30 December 2011). "¿Por qué la Policía llamó a la investigación sobre Urdangarín "Operación Babel"?" (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 February 2013.
2. "Iñaki Urdangarín, imputado". La Vanguardia. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
3. Inda, Eduardo (23 February 2013). "Carlos García Revenga o la Casa Real como tarjeta de presentación" (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
4. "Carlos García Revenga: La Sombra de Elena y Cristina" (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
5. "El juez cita como imputada a la infanta Cristina en el 'caso Urdangarín'" (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 3 April 2013.