Spanish court withdraws passport of ex-IMF chief Rodrigo Rato in fraud, money-laundering case

Published October 06, 2015

A Spanish magistrate has withdrawn the passport of former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato, who is under investigation for alleged tax fraud, money laundering and corruption.

A Madrid regional court statement Tuesday said Rato must appear before the court once a month. It said he could still travel within the European Union using his Spanish identity card. The judge announced the decision after quizzing Rato for three hours.

Rato, 66, headed the IMF from 2004-2007. He was a leading figure in Spain's governing Popular Party and served as economy minister under ex-Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar from 1996 to 2004. He is also under investigation for suspected mismanagement at Bankia, a bank he headed until 2012 that was later bailed out by the government.

He denies wrongdoing.

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