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Former IMF chief Rodrigo Rato returned to court on Monday for his trial for alleged of misuse of funds when he was the boss of two of Spain’s top banks.
Rato, who was once economy minister of Spain, is standing trial with 64 other former executives and board members at Caja Madrid and Bankia, whose near-collapse sparked an EU bailout of Spain’s financial sector.
A total of 66 people were originally charged but one since died.
Protesters jeered Rato as he arrived at the courthouse outside Madrid.
Antonio Hernandez, 65, a retired driver, shouted “thieves” and “thugs” at Rato and other defendants, saying they had “ruined the lives” of thousands of small-scale savers and shareholders like him.
Uncovered in 2013 by a journalist who saw a hacked email alluding to “black credit cards,” the case threatens to land the onetime star of the ruling conservative Popular Party (PP) in jail and with a hefty fine.
Rato and the other executives are accused of having paid for personal expenses with credit cards put at their disposal by both Caja Madrid and Bankia, without ever justifying them or declaring them to tax authorities.
Altogether, they allegedly spent 12 million euros ($13.5 million) between 2003 and 2012 — sometimes splashing out at the height of Spain’s devastating economic crisis.
Rato headed the International Monetary Fund from 2004 to 2007.