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Former Andalusia leaders named as suspects in corruption case

Xinhua, February 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

A Spanish Supreme Court Judge on Tuesday named two former premiers of the Spanish region of Andalusia as official suspects in a corruption case involving millions of euros.

Jose Antonio Grinan and Manuel Chaves, who served as deputy prime minister in the Jose Zapatero government, will have to explain their alleged involvement in an affair known as the "ERE scandal" in court on April 9 and 14.

The ERE scandal saw dozens of people supposedly receiving payments from a fund established by the Socialist Regional Government in Andalusia in order to pay compensation to people who had lost their jobs.

The fund paid out over 855 million euros (1 billion U.S. dollars) between 2000 and 2010, but many of those who received payments are alleged to have never actually held the job they were compensated for losing.

Grinan is currently a member of Congress while Chaves is a member of the Spanish Senate. This means the duo have to be investigated by the Supreme Court, rather than a regional court and both will be questioned over their "direct or indirect role" in the affair.

Three other Socialist politicians, Gaspar Zarrías, Mar Moreno and Jose Antonio Viera, have also been named as official suspects.

The politicians will be questioned three weeks after the elections for the Andalusian regional assembly are due to be held on March 22.

An opinion poll published last week in Andalusia showed the Socialists currently hold a six-point lead over the Popular Party, with the left-wing Podemos in third place. Endit