A Spanish court has initiated proceedings against Emilio Botín, chairman of Spain's Santander Central Hispano, on charges of tax evasion and the illegal transfer of shares in Banco Español de Crédito, one of the bank's retail units, to its executives.

The court, located in the northern city of Santander where the Spanish banking group is headquartered, has given the state prosecutor and the defendants 10 days to prepare their cases, Spanish news agency Efe reports.