Catalan Mayor Says Spanish Government Pushed Account Claim - Bloomberg:
Barcelona Mayor Xavier Trias said newspaper editors tipped him off that Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz rang round the Spanish media urging them to publish allegations the city leader had a Swiss bank account.
Trias is suing El Mundo newspaper over an Oct. 27 story claiming he had 12.9 million euros ($16.3 million) in an account with UBS AG (UBSN) in Geneva. The mayor produced a letter from UBS stating that no such account exists.
“Jorge Fernandez talked to the media to say that the story was absolutely true,” Trias said in an interview in Barcelona city hall yesterday. “It’s very serious.”
Fernandez Diaz denied the allegations in a text message from his press officer at the ministry. The press officer is also considering an interview request from Bloomberg News. A spokeswoman for El Mundo declined to comment last week and no one was available to respond when contacted again by Bloomberg yesterday via e-mail and telephone.
The story broke in the middle of a tempestuous week when Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was forced to apologize over corruption allegations against his party and an opinion poll showed his support cratering as Catalan leaders pledged to hold a ballot on independence in defiance of the Constitutional Court. Catalan government spokesman Francesc Homs said yesterday they are sticking to their plan for an informal vote after the court confirmed its injunction.
Photographer: Eric Piermont/AFP via Getty Images
Barcelona Mayor Xavier Trias attends a session at the French employers' association...
