Madrid tightens grip over Catalan spending to quash vote

MADRID – Spain’s central authorities have increased their control over Catalonia’s regional spending to make sure that no funds are diverted to paying for a suspended independence referendum, the country’s finance minister said Friday. Following the weekly meeting of the Spanish cabinet, Cristobal Montoro said the government is also giving Catalan officials 48 hours to comply with a new system that scrutinizes public payments in order “to guarantee that not one euro will go toward financing illegal acts.”