MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's two former prime ministers - Mariano Rajoy and Jose Maria Aznar - were testifying on Wednesday in a High Court corruption trial involving former prominent members of their conservative People' Party (PP). It is the first time that Aznar, who led Spain between 1996 and 2004, testifies in a corruption case, while Rajoy, premier in 2011-2018, already testified in a related trial in 2017. The case stems from a corruption scandal related to the use of a slush fund in the 1990s and early 2000s to illegally finance campaigns, which resulted in dozens of high-ranking PP members getting jailed. He stepped down as party leader and went back to his office as property registrar. Aznar, who stepped down as party leader in 2004 and has worked in the private sector since, has also denied wrongdoing.

Source: The Star March 24, 2021 16:39 UTC