By Ngozi Onyeakusi

Spain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday confirmed former IMF chief Rodrigo Rato’s jail sentence of four years and six months for misusing company credit cards when he worked at state-owned lender, Bankia.

In February 2017, Rato was found guilty by another court of paying for personal expenses with credit cards put at his disposal when he was the boss of Caja Madrid and Bankia, but had since then been free on bail pending an appeal.

The former IMF chief had appealed the ruling and denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the expenses he accrued on the Bankia credit cards were legal.

Legal experts and analysts see Rato’s case as one of several high-level corruption investigations now coming to fruition as well as a test of whether Spain’s rich are accountable before the law.