MADRID (AP) – Former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato said Friday he plans to cooperate with Spanish justice officials after being detained for several hours in an investigation into fraud and money laundering.
Rato, once one of Spain’s most prominent politicians, told the leading El Pais newspaper that he was “at home and free” after authorities searched his house and later took him from his home in an unmarked police car to be present during a search of one of his offices Thursday. He was allowed return home shortly after midnight.
A spokesman for Madrid’s regional justice tribunal said Rato was under investigation by Madrid prosecutors for fraud, money laundering and asset concealment. The probe has been placed under a secrecy order.
Rato has not been formally charged but is expected to be called before a judge soon.
The spokesman commented only on condition of anonymity as tribunal rules prevent him from being identified publicly.
Rato was economy minister and a deputy prime minister under conservative ex-Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar between 1996 and 2004. He headed the IMF from 2004 to 2007.
He is currently also under investigation for his former role as chief executive of Spanish bank Bankia, which was bailed out in 2012. He has been suspended from the ruling Popular Party.
The searches followed reports by El Pais and other media outlets this week that Rato allegedly applied for a 2012 tax amnesty that authorities believe may have been used by some for money laundering purposes. El Pais said Rato declined to confirm or deny the reports.
The probe is the latest in a series of scandals that have battered the Popular Party as it prepares for municipal and regional elections next month and general elections by the end of the year.
The scandals have outraged many Spaniards who have had to suffer severe budget cuts as the country battles to emerge from an economic crisis that has left one in four out of work.