Spain's central government takes control of Catalonia's finances to block referendum

Madrid

SPAIN has taken control of Catalonia's finances to prevent funds being used for an independence referendum that it deems illegal, a move that limits the region's autonomy and puts in doubt the payment of thousands of public workers' salaries.

"It is a total irresponsibility. They are leading us to an administrative collapse," Catalonia's Vice-President Oriol Junqueras said on Monday, adding that the measure was "unprecedented".