The Spanish king's son-in-law faces having his properties seized after disobeying court orders in a corruption case, judicial sources said Thursday.
The judge investigating corruption charges against Inaki Urdangarin and his former business partner Diego Torres had ordered the two to jointly set aside 8.2 million euros (11 million dollars) for damages they may have to pay if found guilty.
The two did not pay the funds by the deadline of Wednesday midnight. The court will now ask them to inform it about their properties to see which ones could be embargoed, the sources said.
Urdangarin and Torres are suspected of using the non-profit Noos Institute to divert 6 million euros in public money into their companies.
Media reports said the court was likely to seize a luxury villa that Urdangarin and his wife, Princess Cristina, bought in Barcelona for 5.8 million euros in 2004. The couple took a mortgage for the purchase. They then spent about 2 million euros to decorate their new home, according to the daily El Pais.
The couple and their four children have now moved out of the villa.
Urdangarin's and Torres' lawyers had appealed against the court order. Urdangarin's lawyer argued that the sum of 8.2 million euros was "excessive" and would "unfairly impoverish" the 45-year-old former Olympic handball player, who has the title of Duke of Palma de Majorca. The court may also seize property of their wives, judicial sources said.
Torres' wife Ana Maria Tejeiro is a suspect in the corruption case.
But investigators have so far refrained from implicating Cristina, the middle one among King Juan Carlos' and Queen Sofia's three children.
Cristina belonged to the Noos board of directors, and co-owned one of the companies that Urdangarin allegedly used to divert funds. But she was not aware of the details of her husband's business dealings, investigators argue.