Gürtel racket 'paid for wedding reception' of José María Aznar and Ana Botella's daughter

THE wedding of Ana Aznar, daughter of former Spanish president José María Aznar and mayoress of Madrid Ana Botella, was paid for in part through the Gürtel case companies.

According to the case notes, an invoice was found for the sum of 32,452 euros from the banquet hall at the Los Arcos stud farm in San Lorenzo del Escorial (Madrid) titled 'wedding Alejandro Agag', who is Ana Aznar's husband.

It detailed costs of lighting, generators, parking, invitations, scaffolding and other elements relating to decorating and catering for the guests.

Unlike other invoices and account records found in connection with the companies owned by Rafael Correa, chief suspect in the Gürtel corruption case, which showed the actual cost of the services subcontracted together with the amount payable by the customers and the profit obtained, the Los Arcos bill shows that Correa paid the entire amount without charging the bride and groom.

The venue for the reception is owned by a friend of José María Aznar, father of the bride, and the service took place at the El Escorial monastery on September 5, 2002.

Francisco Correa, also said to be a ringleader in the Gürtel case, was the managing director back then of the companies which organised most of the electoral campaign events for the PP party, and attended the wedding as a guest along with other top-flight figureheads such as the King and Queen of Spain and the then heads of State of Italy (Silvio Berlusconi) and the UK (Tony Blair).

And Francisco Correa also acted as witness for the signing of the register during the ceremony.

The Economic and Financial Crime Unit (UDEF) of the Spanish National Police seized documentation relating to the costs incurred in Ana Aznar's and Alejandro Agag's wedding back in January 2011 in a warehouse on an industrial estate in Alcorcón (Madrid) which was used by the Gürtel network.

They have not yet produced a report on the paperwork found.

But Ana Botella, mayoress of Madrid and mother of the bride, insists that the payment of the reception costs was 'just a wedding present' from a 'family friend'.