Overview
- The Sala de Apelación of the Audiencia Nacional annulled the previous acquittal of actress Ana Duato and producer Miguel Ángel Bernardeu and ordered a new trial before a different tribunal because the earlier ruling did not justify its findings in terms of logical reasoning.
- Ana Duato issued a public statement defending her innocence, saying she paid her taxes and accusing the tax authority of using public figures as examples to deter other taxpayers.
- The earlier July ruling by the Sección Segunda of the Audiencia Nacional had acquitted Duato for alleged income tax fraud covering 2010–2012 and Bernardeu for 2011 after finding their conduct compatible with a lawful tax option.
- The appeals chamber also reduced the sentence for Nummaria adviser Fernando Peña by two years to 78 years in prison after ruling one charge was time-barred and adjusting some of the assessed defrauded amounts.
- The case stems from long-running investigations into the Nummaria tax advisory firm and could affect how Spanish courts must explain acquittals in complex tax-fraud trials and whether high-profile defendants face fresh criminal exposure if the new hearing reaches a different conclusion.