A Spanish court has issued hefty prison sentences for politicians and business people involved in a kickbacks-for-contracts scheme that helped fund Spain’s governing party. The National Court’s decision is a major blow for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular, fined 245,000 Euros because it benefited from the illegal scheme that was in place between 1999 and 2005.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy apologised on Thursday for mishandling a major corruption scandal, but denied he or his conservative People's Party, PP, accepted illegal payments and rejected opposition calls to step down.