Six former high ranking Spanish government officials are being investigated over alleged corruption surrounding the sale of government-owned artworks, including two paintings by the Spanish master Francisco Goya with a total worth of around €14 million, Spanish daily newspaper ABC reported on Friday.
Former education secretary Eva Almunia, and her husband Carlos Eso, who served in the cabinet in Spain’s Aragones region, oversaw the purchase of five paintings purchased with public funds between 2006 and 2010, while they were both in office.
The paintings were bought for twice their market price, while Almunia, Eso and at least four other government officials acted as intermediaries in the acquisition under the guise of the company Plaza, founded in 2006, only eight days prior to the paintings’ acquisition – its sole purpose, according to ABC.
For the complete arrticle by Damien Sharkov please visit Newsweek online by clicking here.