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Businessman Fidel Pallerols and two officials of the Unió Democrática political party (part of the regional coalition led by the CiU) have been found guilty of illegal political party financing, misappropriation of funds and will face prison.
On March 6, a Barcelona court rejected an deal previously agreed between the prosecution and the defence to limit sentences in the case to a maximum of two years, which would have allowed the accused to avoid serving time behind bars. In his ruling the judge explained that it was intended to "intimidate citizens and politicians" tempted by corruption.
According to a poll conducted by Spain’s Centre for Sociological Research (CIS), corruption is now the second-ranked issue that worries the Spanish, just after unemployment.
