Husband of Spanish Princess starts a jail sentence

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The husband of Spain's Princess Cristina reported to a prison on Monday morning to start serving a five-year ten-month jail sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Iñaki Urdangarin, a former Olympic handball medalist, was found guilty by a court in Palma, Mallorca, in February last year, of charges including tax fraud and embezzlement.

Prosecutors said Urdangarin used his royal family ties to secure public contracts for sporting events for his allegedly non-profit making foundation, but that he diverted almost six million euros to private accounts.

His wife, Princess Cristina, was found not guilty but was fined since it was decided that she had benefitted from her husband's crimes.

Urdangarin lives with Princess Cristina and their four children in Switzerland and under Spanish law, he could appeal the sentence in the Constitutional Court.

The original ruling by a provincial Mallorcan court came after a six-year investigation and amid a slew of corruption cases against politicians and public figures.