Guggenheim man 'embezzled funds'

Museum directors said its financial chief had taken half a million euros

The chief financial officer of Spain's Guggenheim museum has confessed to embezzling almost half a million euros in funds, museum directors have said.

Roberto Cearsolo Barrenetxea worked at the famous museum in the northern town of Bilbao for more than a decade.

Officials said that legal proceedings had already begun against the director for "financial irregularities".

Mr Barrenetxea, they said, had written a letter admitting his actions soon after an internal investigation began.

His lawyers have declined to comment.

Promise

Officials said Mr Barrenetxea had confessed to transferring a total of 487,000 euros ($776,000; £394,000) from companies linked to the museum into his personal account since 1998.

He had provided a cheque for 251,900 euros ($402,000; £203,000) along with his letter admitting to having taken the money, museum directors said.

They said Mr Barrenetxea, who has been the museum's financial head since 1997, had promised to return the money within three months.

The museum says it started an internal investigation into Mr Barrenetxea after receiving a query from a regional financial tribunal.

The museum's striking structure, designed by architect Frank Gehry, opened in the industrial Basque city in 1997, helping it become an important European cultural centre.