Botin serenely contemplates 150-year sentence

Emilio Botin, chairman of Santander Central Hispano, Spain's largest bank, is facing a 150-year jail sentence for alleged tax fraud. Botin is the latest high-profile target for Spain's very active judiciary. Judge Teresa Palacios has been given permission to begin proceedings against him and 4 former directors of Banco Santander (as it was at the time of the alleged offences) by the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's highest court. The charges relate to the bank's activities in the late 1980s. While one analyst acknowledged that the case certainly represented an additional risk for SCH, no-one seriously expects Botin to go to jail.