Julio Iglesias claims to have been given over €5 million in government cash

SPANISH crooner Julio Iglesias has admitted receiving over €5 million from a former Partido Popular (PP) president in a hidden payment.

The singer said that in 1997, then PP President of Valencia Eduardo Zaplana gave him 990 million pesetas for the use of his image and a series of concerts.

The claims, which Zaplana denies, come after an investigation into the misuse of public funds.

Iglesias, 68, who has a house in Marbella, said he was contracted to promote Valencia: “All those concerts were recorded, and are left to posterity, and this has helped greatly in the growth of Valencia and the development of investments.”