Court Sentences Rodrigo Rato for Corruption

By Jesús Aguado

MADRID (Reuters) – A Madrid court has sentenced former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato to almost five years in prison for various crimes related to corruption, the court announced on Friday.

Rato, who had already served two years in prison for a separate embezzlement case during his tenure as chairman of Bankia, has denied any wrongdoing throughout the nine-year investigation.

Following a year-long trial, the court convicted Rato on three counts of offences against Spanish tax authorities, as well as corruption involving individuals outside the public sector, and money laundering. He was sentenced to four years, nine months, and one day in prison.

The decision can be challenged on appeal before the Supreme Court, meaning Rato will not serve any prison time for now until a final ruling is made, according to a court spokesperson.

At 75, Rato chaired the IMF from 2004 to 2007 and Bankia from 2010 to 2012. He previously spent two years in prison after being convicted in 2017 for misusing Bankia credit cards for personal luxuries.

In the recent corruption case, prosecutors sought a total jail sentence of 63 years for 11 charges against him.

Last year, Rato's lawyer Maria Masso, from law firm Baker McKenzie, requested the court to dismiss the charges, arguing Rato's rights were violated during a 2015 search of his home, claiming the evidence obtained should be annulled.

Baker McKenzie declined to comment on Friday on Masso's behalf following a request from Reuters.

The court also ordered Rato to pay fines exceeding two million euros ($2.08 million), plus 568,413 euros to tax authorities.

Rato served as deputy prime minister in the conservative People's Party (PP) government from 1996 to 2004 and was acquitted in a separate fraud trial regarding Bankia's listing in 2012.

($1 = 0.9625 euros)