The National Court's decision is a significant blow for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's Popular Party, which was fined 245,000 euros (US$ 287,000) over the illegal scheme that was in place between 1999 and 2005. It is the first such conviction for a Spanish political party. The leader of the Ciudadanos party that has so far backed the PP in parliament announced that his party will consider revising its support, saying Thursday's judicial decision "changes everything." The party immediately announced it would appeal the part of the verdict that found it was a profit-seeking participant in the scheme. The case is part of a wider probe looking into allegations that high-ranking PP officials received illegal bonuses that Barcenas administered.

Source: ABC News May 24, 2018 13:18 UTC