MALAGA GAZETTE

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Blind eye to the use of drugs in some bars in Ronda

Posted On Saturday, December 29, 2007 0 comments

A Guardis Civil Officer in Ronda , named as Rosendo S. has been ordered to prison without bail in connection with police corruption in the town.
The Insrtuction Judge 3 In Ronda ordered him to prison and the officer will now been transfered to the Sevilla II prison.
The Chargers against the officer include trafficking in documents such as passports, and of turning a blind eye to the use of drugs in some bars in Ronda in exchange for favours which amounts to Perversion of the Course of justice, fraud and other charges.
The order comes in connection with the arrest of seven policemen earlier in the year, three of those arrested in the case remain in Prison.


40,000 € to two National Police Officers

Posted On Saturday, December 29, 2007 0 comments


40,000 € to two National Police Officers
It came to light in a police report on Tuesday and says that two National police officers received payments from Roca.Reports say that Roca made six payments between May 2004 and December 2005 – a total of 31,000 € to Bernadino R.M and one payment of 7,500 € in January 2005 to his colleague, José Miguel A.H.
Juan Antonio Roca has been linked to the case of the flamenco dancer, Farruquito, who is serving time for negligent homicide for a hit and run in Seville in September 2003
Oscar Benavente, who is believed to have been a front man for Roca, was previously found guilty of helping the dancer to cover up the hit and run and was sentenced to a year in prison.
The report also reveals that both were under investigation by police internal affairs on a drugs-related matter, and a telephone conversation during that investigation was what led to Farruquito’s conviction. The conversation was between Bernadino R.M. and Oscar Benavente.
The report states that Benavente gave unspecified instructions in that conversation so that an un-named third party could escape justice. The recorded conversation was not, in the event, admitted as evidence in the Farruquito case.


Thursday, December 27, 2007

We have sources who tip us off -2 thousand cannabis plants

Posted On Thursday, December 27, 2007 1 comments

2 thousand cannabis plants have been seized following drug raids on plastic greenhouses (invernaderos). Police found 664 plants during a raid on an invernadero, which are normally used to grow fruit and vegetables for northern Europe, near Albuñol . The plastic drugs bust followed a raid on a greenhouse nearby, when civil guards found 560 plants.
In total, four marijuana factories on the Granada coast have been found under plastic since the middle of August. Explaining the increase in the number of drug raids on invernaderos, a police spokesman said: “We have sources who tip us off. We can then locate the greenhouse and their owners. However, some are like cuckoos and it is difficult to locate them.”


Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Hashish trafficking

Posted On Tuesday, December 25, 2007 0 comments


Hashish trafficking: The EU estimates that, at £2bn a year, hashish is unofficially both Morocco's main foreign-currency source and a major contributor to its gross domestic product. Drug trafficking from Morocco (estimated at $12.5 billion) has been identified as the major source of funding for three major terrorist incidents: the aborted attack on a US Navy vessel in Gibraltar in 2002; the bombing of several sites in Casablanca in May 2003, and the March 2004 attack on rail passengers in Madrid.The usual penalty for smoking or buying Hashish is ten years imprisonment. Since cannabis is unofficially Morocco's biggest foreign currency earner it is obvious that the government can hardly afford to make a serious crackdown on the business. Those who are most often fined or penalized are therefore the traveler smoking on a street or being careless when buying off an undercover policeman in a marketplace. If you ever find yourself in this situation, see if you can pay a fine on the spot rather than agreeing to go to prison; Moroccan jails are not pleasant places.


Prince of Marbella Atalaya del Río Verde,With enough money, you can buy all the respect you need

Posted On Tuesday, December 25, 2007 0 comments

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports that the cabinet could make the final decision on the extradition of the Syrian alleged arms dealer before the New Year.The police in Spain believe that the extradition of the Syrian millionaire alleged arms dealer, Monzer Al Kassar, to the United States would mean an increased risk and danger for Spain and for the Spanish soldiers in the Lebanon. El Mundo reports that is the conclusion in a note drawn up by police intelligence
Spain has arrested Al Kassar in the past on charges of piracy and providing the arms to the Abu Abbas-led PLF terrorists who hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship and murdered American Leon Klinghoffer. Western intelligence agencies concluded that Al Kassar flew Abbas to safety aboard one of his private planes after the hijackers surrendered. One prosecution witness, Ahmed Al Assadi, while spending time in Vercelli prison for participating in the hijacking, changed his story and refused to go to Spain to identify Al Kassar as the person who supplied the hijackers' weapons. After Al Kassar's arrest, another accuser, Ismail Jalid, fell to his death from a fifth-story window in Marbella, Spain, in what the coroner called "an alcoholic coma." During the 1995 trial, in a highly publicized standoff with police, a third witness's children were kidnapped by Colombian drug traffickers shortly before he testified. The witness blamed Al Kassar, who denied involvement and stated, "I have nothing to do with the kidnapping and I hope that it is over as soon as possible. Children are sacred for Arabs. No one, not even your worst enemy, deserves this." Al Kassar was later acquitted of all charges.
Geneva Cantonal prosecutor Laurent Kasper-Answermet upheld his 1992 freeze on $6 million belonging to Al Kassar, arguing that his financial investigation found the funds to have come from criminal activities. The financial side of an arms deal leaves a paper trail, whereas arms hidden in shipping containers, guerilla armies and corrupt government officials leave none. In 1998, a Geneva appeals court upheld the seizure but released $3.7 million not directly linked to the arms deal. U.S. government has been well aware of Kassar's work on behalf of terrorists around the world since the 1970s. Kassar was allegedly up to his neck in the Iran-Contra scandal, the BCCI scandal, the murder of Achille Lauro passenger Leon Klinghoffer, and the supply of weapons that were in all likelihood used against American soldiers in the 1993 Black Hawk Down incident in Somalia. Yet no American court had ever leveled formal charges against him, and he'd spent decades hiding in plain sight. "Most arms dealers of his caliber aren't skulking in some shithole in Marseille," says David Isenberg, a senior analyst with the British American Security Information Council. Isenberg has been tracking illicit arms dealers for almost 20 years. "He's been on radar screens. With enough money, you can buy all the respect you need."


Sunday, December 23, 2007

New DigiTax comes into force early in the New Year

Posted On Sunday, December 23, 2007 0 comments


Digitax is to be imposed to protect intellectual property rights and compensate for work copied for private use.
Under the tax, which has taken over a year to thrash out and could come into force early in the New Year, external hard drives will see an extra 12 euros added to their price with MP3/MP4 players, mobile phones and CD and DVD recorders having 3.15, 1.5, 0.60 and 3.40 euros respectively added.
Other items which are already being taxed will see cuts. These include blank CDs in the following formats: CD-R down from 0.22 to 0.17 euros, DVD-R down from 0.60 to 0.44 euros.
Other formats such as CD-RW and DVD-RW stay at 0.22 and 0.60 euros respectively.
The extra tax on multifunctional ink printers will drop from 15 to 7.95 euros and on laser printers it will be cut from 15 euros to 10. Scanners will carry the same tax of nine euros.


Costa Connection

Posted On Sunday, December 23, 2007 0 comments


The first large property investors on the Costa - the sun-and-sangria bolt-hole where British criminals used to live openly without fear of extradition - he owned a villa called El Limonar at Benalmadena, two flats on the Marbella golden mile and a small townhouse at Mijas.
£6 million, the Security Express robbery was the biggest cash haul in British history and the five suspects, the 'Famous Five', became Britain's best known runaways.The headlines were Six hooded gunmen stole an estimated three tons of pure gold from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport here after dousing security guards with gasoline and threatening to set them afire. The haul, valued at $37.5 million, was the richest in British history and one of the biggest of all time. Insurers offered a reward of $3 million for information leading to the recovery of the loot, which also included a small quantity of diamonds, the value of which was not determined.
When they appeared on the Costa living lives of luxury in the sun, the trend of ex-pat criminals living in Spain was blown wide open. Security Express suspects Freddie Foreman and Ronnie Knight £314,813 from the Security Express robbery became unlikely celebrities in a tabloid tale that would fascinate the public and frustrate the authorities for the next decade.


Saturday, December 22, 2007

Fernando del Valle honoured

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 0 comments


The Chilean-born lawyer, Fernando del Valle, who is considered by police to be the mastermind behind the ‘Ballena Blanca’ scam, has been honoured by his colleagues in the Málaga College of Lawyers. Málaga lawyers presented him with a medal and diploma to mark his 25-years of service to the profession
Del Valle was released from jail on September 26 after posting 600,000 euros in cash as bail, some of which was raised by his fellow lawyers. .


Costa del Sol racecourse

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 0 comments


Throughout the year racing fans can enjoy the weekly horse races at Mijas Costa. From October to May on Sunday mornings from 10.30h. From June to September in the cooler evening temperatures on Saturday from 23.00h. Racing lasts around three hours.
The racecourse attracts punters and fans from all along the coast and is hugely popular with locals and tourists of all nationalities. As an equestrian centre, there are plenty of courses available plus riding lessons and competitions.Costa del Sol racecourse described the current situation of a company that employs 80 people (33 of them full-time and the rest paid by race or event), but has not paid them since last September. He blames the financial problems of the Carrera Entertainment Corporation on bad management. “They owe a lot of money, not only to the workers, but to suppliers and so on as well. Now we have the additional problem of dealing with our lost credibility among these companies and sponsors,” he added.
Most of the workers have been there since the beginning, and one of the conditions of the granting of the concession in the past was to maintain the workforce at the same level. But the workers are now worried about their jobs, because it is expected that this clause will be eliminated in any future concession contract.
The Partido Popular spokesperson said his party proposes that the new concession holder take full responsibility for the existing staff debt.


Billboards without authorisation

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 0 comments


300 advertising billboards without authorisation in the municipality of Marbella, the majority of them on privately owned land and around a hundred on public land. In the case of the former, explained the councillor, the details of the installers must be handed in at the Town Hall so that authorisation can be granted if applicable. In the case of billboards on municipal land, it will be up to the Town Hall to decide where the boards can be located and the corresponding contracts will be put out to tender “so that all firms have the chance to use them”.

The dismantling of the first illegal billboards is a sign of the enforcement of a new bylaw announced by the Mayor, ángeles Muñoz, in which she called on all the firms using the billboards and the installers to take them down or show the necessary paperwork at the Town Hall. If this is not done the local authority will carry out the work although the bill will be sent to those responsible for the billboards.


Home Invasion the Christmas buzzword

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 0 comments


Home invaders in Spain understand the isolation poor infrastructure and lack of police presence they also know know that they won't have to overcome alarm systems when the home is occupied or be worried about video cameras and silent alarms. Unlike robbing a retail store, home invaders expect privacy once inside your home and won’t have to deal with the police suddenly driving up or customers walking in. Once the offenders take control of a residence they can force the occupants to open safes, locate hidden valuables, supply keys to the family car, and PIN numbers to their ATM cards. Home invaders will try to increase their escape time by disabling the phones and sometimes will leave their victims bound or incapacitated. It is not unheard of for robbers to load up the victim’s car with valuables and drive away without anyone in the neighborhood taking notice.


Homejacking hits Christmas on the Costas

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 0 comments


Homejacking is on the rise.This is the residential form of an automobile carjacking and it's on the rise. Like the crime of carjacking, most police agencies don’t track home invasions as a separate crime. Home invasion robbers work more often at night and on weekends when homes are more likely to be occupied. The home invader will sometimes target the resident as well as the dwelling. The selection process may include a woman living alone, a wealthy senior citizen or a known drug dealer, for example. It is not unheard of for a robber to follow you home based on the value of the car you are driving or the jewelry you are wearing. Some home invaders might have been in your home before as a delivery person, installer or repair vendor. Home robbers rarely work alone and rely on an overwhelming physical confrontation to gain initial control and instill fear in you. The greatest violence usually occurs during the initial sixty seconds of the confrontation and home invaders often come prepared with handcuffs, rope, duct tape, and firearms. Some in-home robbers appear to enjoy the intimidation, domination, and violence and some even claim it’s a "rush." home invasion, little can be done to alert the public as to the frequency of occurrence in their community or devise a law enforcement plan of action to control it.


loans were taken out for car purchase, and were based on false documentation relating to income and employment. The loan repayments were never made.

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 0 comments


The National Police Fraud Squad in Málaga has broken up an organised group of criminals who are believed to have defrauded more than 150,000 € by taking out fraudulent bank loans.The gang used false documentation to take out loans for car purchase but never made the repayments.Twelve vehicles have so far been detected as being bought in this way.Twelve people have been taken into custody: eight Spaniards, three Romanian nationals and a woman from Morocco. A 51 year old man from Romania is believed to have originally formed the network, and then passed it on to his two sons.


Homejacking Christmas Threat to Costa Security

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 1 comments



The act of committing a homejacking is escalating much like carjacking. The reason for the increase seems to follow a similar pattern. Much like automobiles, the traditional commercial targets for robbers like convenience stores and fast-food restaurants have hardened themselves against criminal attack and have reduced available cash. Technology has allowed commercial establishments to install affordable video surveillance systems, silent alarms, and other anti-crime deterrent devices. A residence, by comparison, is now a more attractive choice.

Home invaders know that they won't have to overcome alarm systems when the home is occupied or be worried about video cameras and silent alarms. Unlike robbing a retail store, home invaders expect privacy once inside your home and won’t have to deal with the police suddenly driving up or customers walking in. Once the offenders take control of a residence they can force the occupants to open safes, locate hidden valuables, supply keys to the family car, and PIN numbers to their ATM cards. Home invaders will try to increase their escape time by disabling the phones and sometimes will leave their victims bound or incapacitated. It is not unheard of for robbers to load up the victim’s car with valuables and drive away without anyone in the neighborhood taking notice
Breaking News:10 burglaries with violence .Police say the four men, all Moroccan, are also facing charges of being in the country illegally.The four detainees are aged between 18 and 21 and have 42 previous arrests between them.
The arrests followed a lengthy investigation by undercover officers who linked the four men to 10 burglaries with violence carried out in Rincón de Loix, Armanello, Salto del Agua, Amafrá, Foi Manera and La Lloma and nine attacks on tourists.
All of the crimes were committed at night and involved violence including strangulation.
Three of the detainees were picked up at the same time while the fourth was captured by local police following a pursuit through the town. Police were alerted to the man after a check on the vehicle he was driving found it had been stolen weeks earlier in Orihuela.
A search of property being used by the gang uncovered 1,600 watches, a large amount of jewellery, mobile telephones and coin collections.


Julián Muñoz

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 0 comments




ex-mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz will be released from jail later today after posting bail of €50,000 euros corresponding to charges outside the 'Malaya' investigation into property development related corruption, referring, instead, to a money-laundering investigation as a result of which, Muñoz's current girlfriend, flamenco star, Isabel Pantoja, and former wife, Maite Zaldívar, have also been charged.
Judge Óscar Pérez granted Muñoz bail of €50,000 on the 21st September on the charges related to the 'Malaya' investigation, which the former mayor's lawyers posted, but failed to achieve their client's release.
Muñoz has been in custody since July 2006 and is currently being held at Jaén jail.


Costa home invaders the new threat to expat security

Posted On Saturday, December 22, 2007 0 comments


Spanish Home invaders know that they won't have to overcome alarm systems when the home is occupied or be worried about video cameras and silent alarms. Unlike robbing a retail store, home invaders expect privacy once inside your home and won’t have to deal with the police suddenly driving up or customers walking in. Once the offenders take control of a residence they can force the occupants to open safes, locate hidden valuables, supply keys to the family car, and PIN numbers to their ATM cards. Home invaders will try to increase their escape time by disabling the phones and sometimes will leave their victims bound or incapacitated. It is not unheard of for robbers to load up the victim’s car with valuables and drive away without anyone in the neighborhood taking notice.The most common point of attack is through the front door or garage. Sometimes the home invader will simply kick open the door and confront everyone inside. More common is when the home invaders knock on the door first or ring the bell. The home invader hopes that the occupant will simply open the door, without question, in response to their knock. Unfortunately, many people do just that.

Home invaders will sometimes use a ruse or impersonation to get you to open the door. They have been known to pretend to be delivering a package, flowers or lie about an accident like hitting your parked car. Once the door is opened for them, the home invaders will use an explosive amount of force and threats to gain control of the home and produce fear in the victims. Once the occupants are under control the robbers will begin to collect your valuables.
Some home robbers have been known to spend hours ransacking a residence while the homeowners are bound nearby watching in terror. Some robbers have been known to eat meals, watch TV, or even take a nap. A major fear is that the robbers might commit more violence like sexual assault or even murder. Some robbers have kidnapped and forced a victim to withdraw cash from their ATM machine or take them to their small business to rob it as well.


Friday, December 21, 2007

Sniper Films Morrocan Police Corruption

Posted On Friday, December 21, 2007 0 comments

The Sniper chose the anonymity of the Internet to expose his evidence for fear of reprisals by local authorities.The independent Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) criticised police for hunting him, saying that an unspecified number of youths from Sniper's home village, Tarjist, were arrested by police seeking his identity and whereabouts.
To his surprise, the video has drawn tens of thousands of viewers around the world and made him a hero among downtrodden Moroccans tired of paying bribes to civil servants to avoid a fine or to obtain official papers, health care and justice.
"Take up your cameras, dear Moroccans," said one commentator on YouTube who identified himself as Youyoubes. "Such scenes you will find on any street corner. Unfortunately there is not a sniper in every house."


Thursday, December 20, 2007

The entire development is “illegal, but built with the consent of the authorities.”

Posted On Thursday, December 20, 2007 0 comments

Man absolved after adding extension and pool to illegal home on proposed World Heritage site
JUDGES in Córdoba have acquitted the owner of one of the 240 illegal homes on the protected Medina Azahara site for extending the property even though it faces demolition.
The defendant, who built a swimming pool and an extra room at his house at the Las Pitas development, was facing two years imprisonment as well as a 3,240 euro fine.
Even though the entire housing complex had been constructed on protected land, the owner of the house proceeded to extend it by 25 square metres and build a pool in the garden in 2006.
But on December 7, magistrate José Antonio Carnerero ruled that no punishment should be imposed, despite acknowledging the illegal conduct of the accused.
Carnerero pointed out that the entire development is “illegal, but built with the consent of the authorities.”
Carnerero had already absolved one owner of an illegal Medina Azahara property and is set to try five others in the near future.
The magistrate blamed the existence of the illegal homes on the incompetence of the local administrations, stating “the widespread lack of adherence to town planning laws and the lack of effectiveness within the council should not result in the criminalization of all.”


Monday, December 17, 2007

Moroccan mafia

Posted On Monday, December 17, 2007 0 comments


Moroccan mafia dedicate themselves to the task of introducing illegal immigrants of all nationalities into the European Union. These immigrants traverse the Straits of Gibraltar in fishing boats from the south of Spain or in small wooden boats whose disadvantage is that they are often lost in the stormy waters of the Straits, but which have the advantage that they cannot be detected by police radar. According to official calculations, only thirty percent of these "wet backs" who risk their lives to cross the Straits of Gibraltar in small boats are caught. And in the last five years, six thousand have been captured. The price per immigrant is between $8,000 and $40,000. On the payment of this sum, the immigrants receive not only clandestine passage into the European Union but also a number of very practical tips on how to take advantage of the legal system of the European countries, in particular, Spain, their port of entry. The Moroccan mafias counsel the immigrants that if they dispose of their passports upon arrival in the Iberian peninsula, it will, in practice, be impossible to repatriate them. This is due to the fact that the Moroccan authorities take no responsibility for citizens whose nationality cannot be proved. The police have forty days to make a study of the case of each immigrant. If, within this time, they are not able to come up with basic information, such as the name and nationality of the immigrants, they are obligated to set them free. The immigrants are also advised by the mafias to declare themselves citizens of a country at war, which gives them the right to temporary residence while their request for political asylum is reviewed. In addition they are given the names of various non-profit organisations where they can ask for help in finding work. If there are subsequent problems with the police, they should say that they have lost their papers, and later someone will testify that they are long-time residents of Spain. the coast of the Straits of Gibraltar is the number one destination for immigrants from Africa wishing to illegally enter Spain. The coastline between Algeciras and Tarifa bore the brunt of the landings. The Guardia Civil detained 2,336 people trying to illegally land in this zone. That figure accounts for more than 75 per cent of the clandestine immigrant landings in the province. The beach of Barbate is a popular dropping off point with 765 immigrants being detained in that location.
Of the 2,336 illegals detained in the Campo de Gibraltar region the majority of them come from Morocco. Morocco accounted for 1,352 of that total followed by the Congo with 286, Nigeria 138, Sierra Leone 72, with the balance made up from various other countries on the African continent.


Costa del Sol arms trafficking

Posted On Monday, December 17, 2007 0 comments


International arms trafficking groups are the oldest international criminal groups in Spain. They are principally Arabs, who have a long history in the Costa del Sol region, from which they manage their business throughout the world. In their wake many other crime organisation have arrived, mainly looking for secure territories for money laundering. Colombian narcotic cartels, essentially involved in cocaine trafficking, have used Galicia (in Northwest Spain) as a bridgepoint to Europe since the mid 1980s. Besides these cartels' well-known relations with Galician smugglers, they have also established contacts in other coastal regions in Spain.Centering on Costa del Sol, in Southern Spain. Their main activity consisted of laundering the money generated in businesses such as drug trafficking, arm trafficking, extortion and kidnapping. After creating operating bases and incorporating new and powerful criminal organisations, they have achieved a division of labour so perfect that they have been able to operate virtually unnoticed by the majority of the general public. The only violent incidences in Spain have been mainly a consequence of internal power conflicts in the organisation headquarters. International criminal organisations in Spain always have tried to avoid the ostentatious violence they use in other parts of the world in order to maintain this country as a secure base for money-laundering.


2,000 homes could face demolition in the resort.

Posted On Monday, December 17, 2007 0 comments

It is apparent this is no tourist promotional video for the Levante resort, but a stinging indictment of a construction policy that has seen 100,000 new homes built in the town in recent years – many of which stand empty.However, under the government’s draft of intent to rid the coast of homes built illegally after the Coast Law of 1988, around 2,000 homes could face demolition in the resort.
More than 6,000 viewers have seen this video since it was added to popular website YouTube at the end of October by its maker – the mysteriously monikered Puffin 2206.
It has even featured on Spanish national television, with Telecinco including it in a news broadcast in early November.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSO31QJwKGQ

The inspiration for the video was born out of frustration that a “dictatorship” of cement reigns in the town, claims the maker, who used a hand-held video camera and a simple computer editing software package to make the three-minute film.
“I bought a resale property here 18 months ago. I enjoy walking in the countryside and have recently been perturbed to realise all the green space in the town has been


seaside resort cities of Lloret de Mar and Benidorm

Posted On Monday, December 17, 2007 0 comments

agents identified several websites in the U-S that allowed access to child pornography files in exchange for payments of between $70 and $95.
The trail led to the seaside resort cities of Lloret de Mar and Benidorm where police detected, then arrested, four Russian nationals.
Subsequent probes then led to the arrest of 59 people during the past 10 days.


Saturday, December 15, 2007

The Bank of Spain has voiced concerns

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments


The Bank of Spain has voiced concerns over the high levels of debt in the housing and construction sector. “It’s a cause for concern that requires the vigilance of management, experts and institutions,” says the bank’s director of research José Luis Malo de Molina.

According to Malo de Molina the housing and construction sector has the highest level of debt in the economy. Borrowing in the construction sector has reached 800% of the sector’s gross value added, compared to 300% in the energy sector, and way above debt levels in other sectors such as transport and telecommunications.

The bank’s concerns have heightened with the recent financial turbulence, which the bank expects to raise borrowing costs even if interest rates fall.


Marbella appear to have started fining buyers for under-declaring

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

the property market in Marbella has been in the doldrums for a number of years. As a result market prices are back where they were 3 or more years ago, even if official figures suggest that prices have been steadily rising, albeit at a lower rate than before. Official figures are notoriously unreliable, and everyone knows that they overstate prices. The scandal is that tax officials in Marbella appear to have started fining buyers for under-declaring (paying part of the price under the table in cash) even if they haven’t. If the tax office thinks that the declared price is too low, they fine the buyer. So if you do everything by the book, declare the full price, and pay all your taxes, you might still be fined. All that matters is the price the tax authorities believe you should have paid, which might well be above the price you actually pay. A classic catch-22: whatever you do, you can’t win. Heaven help you if you find a real bargain.


The British Consul in Malaga, Bruce McIntyre

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

The British Consul in Malaga, Bruce McIntyre, recently revealed his office now spends much of its time trying to help old and lonely expatriots who can no longer cope. “Sometimes people have made bad property investments or have not budgeted their pensions and are living in extreme poverty.” With the University of Barcelona warning that the price of the average home in Spain is set to fall 20% between 2007 and 2009, it seems more and more people could find their Spanish property dream turning into a nightmare.


cocaine addiction has surpassed the number of heroin addicts in Granada

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

During this year, the number of people being treated for cocaine addiction has surpassed the number of heroin addicts in Granada for the first time. During 2006, 2,000 people passed through the treatment centres of the CPD, 20 per cent of whom were addicted to cocaine and 26 per cent to heroin. So far this year, 24 per cent have been treated by the centre for cocaine addiction and 19.8 per cent have been treated for heroin addiction.

The report also details that cocaine sold in Granada tends to be up to 50 per cent pure; a high level of purity which, claims Torres, ensures a higher level of addiction. The rest is made up of sugars, anesthetics and other elements, such as talcum powder, flour or even heroin.


shattered, the dreams of many Britons have been left in ruins

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments


shattered, the dreams of many Britons have been left in ruins after they were forced to wait four years for their promised home in the sun.
Some also fear they have lost their 23,000-euro deposits placed on property in the Zoco complex in the hamlet of El Golco in la Alpujarra.
Agents Palmera Properties had initially insisted the two-bedroom apartments in phases 4 and 5 would be ready for 2006.


Princes William and Harry Finca La Garganta, near the village of Conquista

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

Princes William and Harry have become occasional visitors at Finca La Garganta, near the village of Conquista, on the border with Castilla La Mancha.
Under the guise of hunting – the estate is literally teeming with wildlife including wild boar, stag and partridge – the young princes have whisked girlfriends, including Kate Middleton, to the estate that the Duke bought on an initial ten-year lease for a reported £2million five years ago.
Staying in a stunning ten-bed villa - one of three the Duke has spent millions constructing in the heart of the estate - the eligible princes took girlfriends out shooting and even wined and dined them at a well-known local restaurant.Located at a remote estate on the Cordoba/Extremadura border - close to where British royals Prince William and Harry have hunted - dozens of Spanish, Italian and even English hunters paid up to 30,000 euros for the thrill of killing big game.
Now, estate owner Manuel Dominguez, 42, is facing three years in prison at the trial which is due to begin at San Benito district court in the Autumn. Fellow hunt organisers and three hunters - including a married couple from Fuenlabrada, Madrid - face two years.


housing starts since August are down 40 percent

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

Spanish property companies are coming to terms with the end of a massive boom, with housing starts well down on last year as sales fall and credit tightens.
Pedro Pérez, the secretary general of the so-called G-14 lobby, which groups together the 13 biggest real-estate companies in Spain, told reporters yesterday that housing starts since August are down 40 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.
On top of falling sales, the sector is also feeling the effects of the credit crunch sparked by the US subprime mortgage crisis of the past summer.
According to figures released earlier this week by the College of Property Registrars, sales of homes have dropped 30 percent since the summer, compared with a fall of 15 percent in the first half.


world's longest cable car line in the Sierra Nevada

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

Environmental authorities on Wednesday quashed plans to build the world's longest cable car line in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, arguing the project would have a devastating impact on fragile local ecosystems.
The ruling by the Andalusian environment department was applauded by conservationists who had campaigned to block the construction of the 19-kilometre line that was to have linked the city of Granada with Sierra Nevada. The department decided it would put at risk endangered bird species in a protected area of the mountain range and create an eyesore.


Mr Roca's rise to riches began in 1991

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

Once an unemployed builder, Mr Roca allegedly gave the former mayor Marisol Yague [euro]1.3m ([pound]800,000) in bribes, slipped to her in plain envelopes, funding a facelift and home improvements costing [euro]950,000. The deputy mayor, Isabel Marcos, had [euro]360,000 in cash at her home, while Mr Roca accumulated an art collection worth [euro]30m, including a valuable Miro, displayed in his steaming Jacuzzi. When prosecutors investigated 18 shell companies registered in tax havens worldwide to launder the ill- gotten profits, they found not one legitimate business transaction.

Mr Roca's rise to riches began in 1991, when he became the right- hand man of Marbella's flamboyant mayor, Jesus Gil. He subsequently amassed a [euro]120m fortune, according to the 450-page indictment issued recently by judge Miguel Angel Torres, made mainly from the greed and easy money of Spain's long property boom. Town halls throughout Spain were caught up in the tide of illegality, but the sheer baroque excess of the Marbella scandal dwarfed them all. Last year the government dissolved the entire council and installed a management committee.


Marbella town hall approved a thousand building licences

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

Marbella town hall approved a thousand building licences in recent years and that, out of 80,000 homes in the resort, only 50,000 have been declared properly legal.
Town hall councillors were accused of failing to review the majority of licences given since 1998 and continuing to give "illegal licences". Most of these were awarded in the 1990s when Marbella was run by the populist mayor and property developer Jesús Gil, who was later imprisoned when one of the hotels he built collapsed killing 58 insurance agents.


Charlie Wilson,s alleged killer resurfaces AKA Willy Douglas, Terence Tompkins, William Baird McDonald,Willy Grant,(Update)

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments


Great Train Robber, Charlie Wilson, 57,was shot dead along with his dog by a man on a motorbike, on the doorstep of his Villa in Marbella in 1990. , initiating a gangland feud.Wilson’s wife, Pat, witnessed the murder and said Grant was the gunman
The gunman was never caught, but the getaway car driver, Danny `Scarface’ Roff, was himself the target of a fatal hit in 1997. Roff was already in a wheelchair after a gunman sprayed the bar of a south London club with bullets the year before.A Scottish man who faked his own death and is linked with the murder of Great Train Robber Charlie Wilson may be living in Ireland.
Walter "Wattie" Douglas AKA Willy Grant, 37, from the east end of Glasgow, is still wanted by Spanish police for questioning over Wilson’s murder in Marbella on the Costa del Sol.
He is also wanted in connection with a child abduction case in Portugal and a shooting in England.Portuguese police were also looking for him at the same time over suspected involvement in a child abduction incident.
But Grant was never found, and in 1991 word had reached Glasgow that he had died abroad.But a body was never brought home for burial.
Police thought that was the end of the matter until four Scotsmen, and two others, were held over a large consignment of drugs in Dublin recently.
After questioning the six men, police reopened their files on Grant, working on the belief that he was operating in Ireland.
Grant was close to a Scottish crime lord known as Tam "The Licensee" McGraw, who may have had an involvement with the heroin haul.The Licensee was, until his death,on July 30, 2007 , believed to be living off and on in Marbella with his hired former Serbian Army bodyguards.
The crime boss had been cleared, in 1998, after a lengthy trial, of smuggling cannabis from Spain into Scotland using a school bus full of children as cover.The case against him was found not proven, but his brother-in-law, John Healy, was jailed for 10 years.There will be a good few who will be raising their glasses because, while he has been on the Costa Del Crime, he has been in the frame for murder and grassing other guys up.Douglas, of Ruchill, Glasgow, was arrested in Ibiza .
Police swooped after he got off a flight using a fake passport with the name William Baird McDonald.
It is one of two false aliases he uses, the other being Terence Tompkins.
A judge in Marbella issued a warrant for his arrest.
He is accused of masterminding a massive money-laundering operation in southern Spain involving "millionaire property and financial investments".
He will be taken to the Spanish mainland amid strict security to face trial.
Last night, Spanish police called Douglas "the principal narcotics dealer in his own country".
A spokesman at the National Police Headquarters in Madrid said: "We are still gathering information on this suspect.
"He was using a false passport when he entered Spain and we are still not sure of his date or place of birth.
"He is wanted on allegations of major money laundering."
A police source in Ibiza added: "We know that he has been in South Africa in recent years and could have flown in from there via Madrid or Barcelona.
"He has flown from there to Ibiza and Majorca on several occasions in the past. "He was stopped by police at the airport who suspected he was travelling on a false passport.
"Checks were carried out and that proved to be the case.
"This is an internal Spanish matter at this stage and has nothing to do with extradition to Holland, the UK or any other country where he is wanted.
"At this stage he is simply being returned to Marbella where there is a warrant outstanding in relation to this multi-million money-laundering scam."


Prince of Marbella Kassar's home is in the upscale town of Marbella

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

Kassar's home is in the upscale town of Marbella, on Spain's southern Mediterranean coast. His home was cordoned off by police, who were searching for evidence there.
Kassar, who has Spanish residency status, was taken to the National Court in central Madrid, which handles cases of terrorism. After a closed-door hearing, a judge ordered him to be held in jail, due the U.S. charges, but Kassar also was due to be sent under police guard to his Marbella home while police continue searching the premises, said a court official .Known as the "Prince of Marbella" for his opulent lifestyle, al Kassar has been branded a "merchant of death" by authorities and is listed as No. 26 on the Iraqi government's most wanted list.

While al Kassar is not specifically charged with providing weapons to anti-U.S. factions in Iraq, the indictment does note, "Kassar has provided weapons and military equipment to such factions in Nicaragua, Brazil, Cyprus, Bosnia, Croatia, Somalia, Iran and Iraq, among other countries. Some of these factions have included known terrorists organizations, such as the Palestinian Liberation Front ("PLF"), the goals of which included attacks on United States interests and United States nationals."


Wi-fi is on the way to Marbella

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

Wi-fi is on the way to Marbella. The Town Hall has said that they are to set up wireless internet access in the public areas across the municipality in the next two months.


Richard Neil

Posted On Saturday, December 15, 2007 0 comments

has become the 6th fatality to die as a consequence of the settling of scores in Málaga province this year. The first of them was last August at The Point bar, when a 38 year old Estonian was shot dead with a single shot to the head.
Two weeks later the burnt out body of a man was found in a car in Estepona. He had also been shot. And on September 11th three Colombians were killed in the Torreblanca del Sol Urbanisation in Fuengirola, in the settling of scores over cocaine trafficking.


Friday, December 14, 2007

secret mass graves

Posted On Friday, December 14, 2007 0 comments


The Spanish government and judges might be instructed to cooperate in the investigation of scores of secret mass graves dating from the civil war (1936-39) and its aftermath. They may be forced to begin opening such graves and to identify the corpses lying within.
The graves are dotted all over Spain and their existence has been known to Spanish people for over 60 years. They are reported to contain the remains of more than 30,000 republican soldiers, militants and other opponents of Franco’s fascist dictatorship. The victims were either captured or detained during the civil war and executed later, or were summarily executed by falangists or Francoist troops in the days and months immediately after the war. Their bodies were flung into hurriedly dug graves by the roadside, at the bottom of cliffs or in the middle of fields. Some were grabbed; others were persuaded to give themselves up after being assured that nothing would happen to them if they did so.
According to campaigners, among the scores of uncovered mass graves are some containing more than one thousand corpses near Oviedo and Gijon in the north, Teruel in the east and Seville in the south. The biggest grave near Merida is believed to contain more than 3,500 bodies.


Puente Romano and the Marbella Club

Posted On Friday, December 14, 2007 0 comments


The judge investigating the Hidalgo money laundering case in Marbella, Manuel Martin Hernandez-Carrillo, interrogated three people connected with the hotel group that owns the Puente Romano and the Marbella Club last week. One of them is said to be the director of one of the hotels. The director of the Marbella Club, Juan Carlos Luna, said he had never been ordered to appear before the judge and that he and the hotel had nothing to do with the case. A local newspaper said it had not been possible to contact the director of Puente Romano. The case had been conducted in absolute secrecy until September, when the court began to release some details of the involvement of the Cruz Conde lawyers’ practice, which also has connections with the Malaya case of urban development-related corruption in Marbella town hall.


30.000 dwellings

Posted On Friday, December 14, 2007 0 comments

30.000 dwellings in the municipality which either have been built or are in the process of being built with illegally issued building licences. Basically, these were given in spite of the fact that they violated the 1986 Town Planning Regulation in force at present. The violations range from constructing houses on land not designated for building, for example in green belts or on land set aside for public facilities, to granting licenses in spite of the fact that buildings did not meet regulations or building codes, for example, building more homes or square metres on a plot than regulations allowed. Many of these dwellings have been completed and have been purchased by bona fide owners who have registered their title in the land registry and inhabit them. Now they have found out that they are illegal despite the fact that their solicitors had checked that the Land Registry showed the developer had a clean title and the latter had obtained a presumed legal building licence. Furthermore, in some instances the property even has a license known as the “First Occupation Licence” which is granted by the Town Hall and allows people to occupy their dwelling. Now some of these buildings are in danger of being demolished as result of court orders that declare their building licences null and void.


Aki Johannes Kujala

Posted On Friday, December 14, 2007 0 comments


Aki Johannes Kujala, suspect in involvement in the White Whale case, when he declared his annual income at only 50,000 euros, while living a life of luxury and expensive style. The 41-year-old Finn, a resident on the Costa del Sol, had already been investigated by the police for money-laundering and financial crimes in his own country on various occasions, and had been convicted by a Finnish court in 1997.

Kujala held shares in a total of 21 companies, ranging from a gymnasium to real estate and audio-visual businesses. He lived a fast life-style, both figuratively and literally, owning a number of luxury cars, including Ferraris and top-of-the-range Mercedes, and was also the owner of a luxury yacht. He owned a 50 per cent stake in Gestierra, a company partly owned by Francisco Calle, brother-in-law of the former mayor of Manilva, Pedro Tirado, who was jailed two weeks ago on various counts of fraud. The Finnish connection was through a company called Royal Marbella Estates, to which the mayor of Manilva had sold his signature on a re-zoning order, favourable, of course, to the company in question. Aki Johannes Kujala had purchased a number of plots on the land which was later re-zoned.

Kujala’s partner in the Marbella gymnasium was Italian Luigi Protani, who was wanted by the Italian police for drug trafficking, and who had been arrested in Spain in 2001 and subsequently handed over to the Italians for his involvement in an international drug ring. Protani has been in prison in Rome since 2003, convicted of having taken part in the sale of 200 kilos of Venezuelan cocaine to an Italian gang.

The police also discovered that another partner in the gymnasium was Moroccan Ghali Lamrani, who lived in the same building as Kujala. Lamrani has since ended up in a Moroccan prison for his part in a drugs deal in which 350 kilos of cocaine were seized by Dutch police in Rotterdam port. Lamrani’s name was also linked to the Fun Fair Investments and Gavaid Corporation companies run by Fernando del Valle.

Lamrani was also in partnership with another Moroccan, Otham Soussi, who was tried and convicted of money-laundering, tax evasion and smuggling by the Audiencia Nacional (Central Criminal Court) in Madrid in 2002. Police investigators found that the Aki Kujala companies were paying out more than they were taking in, and could not account for the origin of this money, much of which was coming from abroad. But apart from their questionable business practice, there was also the direct relationship, both as partners and on a personal level, between them and the Marbella money-laundering network.


Thursday, December 13, 2007

paid money to Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

The Andalucian High Court of Justice, TSJA, has said that ‘there is absolutely no doubt’ that Juan Antonio Roca, the ex municipal real estate assessor in Marbella Town Hall, paid money to Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía. The instruction judge in the Andalucian High Court, Miguel Pasqau, has thus ordered that the case proceed to a full hearing on the charges of perversion of the course of justice and bribery.
Charged are the judge, Francisco Javier de Urquía, who has now been removed from Court number two in Marbella, Juan Antonio Roca, and a man described as a friend of the two and named as Arnau Fabrice Albouhair.
Meanwhile, Ecologistas en Acción have denounced what they claim is the administrative perversion of the course of justice in Marbella Town Hall. They claim that the town hall’s decision not to revise the building licences of some 1,000 properties granted permission between July 1991 and March 2006 by the Jesús Gil administration amounts to that, as the permissions were granted illegally


shot in the centre of Marbella

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

A foreigner has died overnight after being shot in the centre of Marbella by two people who managed to make their escape from the scene.
EFE news agency quotes police sources who say it happened at 10pm close to Calle Camilo José Cela and that the two people who carried out the attack passed on a moped.
The victim is reported to have been shot several times in the back.


remains are said to be of a white man in his forties

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

The Civil Guard are coming closer to solving the mystery of a chopped up body which was found buried in plastic bags in a field in Ceutí on Saturday, and have now, according to a report in La Verdad newspaper on Tuesday, managed to lift fingerprints off the mummified remains. The remains are said to be of a white man in his forties, who was murdered elsewhere before his body was chopped up and buried at a depth of one metre.
There is also evidence that the victim’s body was kept in a freezer for some time prior to being buried.
The gruesome contents of the plastic bags were discovered by a farmer who was turning over his land, and appear to have been buried there some years ago.


Lorcrimar Hotel

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments


The Andalucian Supreme Court of Justice has ordered Marbella Town Hall to revise the licence given for the Lorcrimar Hotel in town by Julián Muñoz in 2003, against the planning legislation.
The court is in agreement with the Junta de Andalucía which says that the Town Hall has the obligation to revise all the illegal licences. Last July 31st the Partido Popular controlled Town Hall passed a motion not to revise any more licences.


Ghosts of the 80s

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

A trawler fishing off the coast of Altea brought up a rather unexpected catch in its nets on Wednesday: a human skull, and bones from the thorax, which were brought up from a depth of between 60 and 70 metres. The find has been handed over to the Civil Guard, who have started an investigation to try and identify the remains.
The President of the local Fishermen’s Guild, Antonio Lloret, spoke to the EFE news agency of an opening which could be seen in the back of the skull, as if, he said, it were made by a bullet.
Another trawler found a human hand and a leather jacket in its nets earlier this week, in the same area.


Marbella Club

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments


The hotel's address Marbella Club, located in this town Malaga, yesterday sent a message of reassurance to the workers of the establishment, dissociate themselves from the records in connection with the transaction Hidalgo against money laundering, and rejecting any involvement with the case.

Thus, according to union sources indicated, in a meeting with the works council, the address of the hotel explained that the police searches conducted at its facilities throughout the day occurred in an office of the firm at the forefront of which is Rafael Cruz Conde. The same sources pointed out that this is legal counsel for the Marbella Club, as well as the popular hotel Puente Romano, also in Marbella, the two establishments belonging to the same group.

Moreover, the United Left parliamentary Andalusian by Malaga, Antonio Romero, said yesterday that operations like Malaya or Hidalgo "can extirpate the cancer of crime and money laundering on the Costa del Sol."


Mauritius Pardo, Joaquín Crespo and Amelia Berjillos

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

names of the detainees include three notaries in exercise: Mauritius Pardo, Joaquín Crespo and Amelia Berjillos. The last two names already appeared related to the transaction White Whale, also against money laundering, as informed sources in the investigation. However, the investigations are still under way into the hands of the magistrate number two in Marbella, As part of the investigation, were carried out searches in Marbella, including the Marbella Club Hotel, and Estepona and interventions of more than a score of properties in these localities and others in Cadiz, Madrid, Asturias, Cordoba, Lleida, Tarragona , Barcelona and Seville. Además, Moreover, 29 banks received the order of the public prosecutor's office to block balances, accounts, investment funds, charges on fixed-term investments or other securities


Cruz Conde

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments


Nineteen of the twenty-one arrested in the operation known as "Hidalgo" against money laundering centered in Marbella still in police custody while awaiting that are brought to justice.

Police sources Efe reported today that although initially twenty-one persons were arrested, two were released, and the rest remain in the Malaga Provincial Police Station.

The police records practiced in the firm Red Conde and a luxury hotel Punta Romano in Marbella, which began yesterday morning, continued until this morning.

The Hidalgo operation against money laundering through suspending corporate account at least eight international connections and is not related to the case of Malaya.

According to Efe, reported that the police were investigating the activities of the firm , "allegedly specialized in financial engineering for laundering money from all sorts of criminal activities" and to be devoted to the creation of corporate suspending " the purpose of concealing the origin and ownership of property. "


worldwide money laundering

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

National Police officers on the Costa del Sol have arrested a lawyer and an Israeli administrator in connection to the "White Whale" money laundering investigation. Both men have been linked to the DV Law Firm managed by Fernando del Valle in Marbella which is alleged to have been the hub of a worldwide money laundering operation believed to have handled sums of up to €250 million on behalf of Eastern European mafia groups.


Harvey Jeffrey

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

A British man, Harvey Jeffrey L, arrested last Saturday as part of the "White Whale" money laundering investigation, has been jailed by judge Miguel Angel Torres after an appearance this afternoon at Marbella municipal court. His wife, who was also arrested at the weekend, was allowed to go and no charges were brought against her. Both are suspected of swindling fellow Brits out of hundreds of thousands of euros since setting up a business at the end of 2001, which is being investigated as part of a wider investigation into a money laundering operation thought to be run from the Del Valle law firm based in Marbella.


Fernando del Valle

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

sum of 600,000 euros has been demanded in return for the temporary freedom of Fernando del Valle in the Marbella money-laundering case which occurred last March. The family of the Chilean-born lawyer, accused of being the mastermind behind the 250 million euro fraud, are now attempting to secure the bond which will lead to his release from the prison in Albolote, Granada. His lawyer, Javier Núñez, admitted that it would not be easy raising the money, a previous attempt to win bail through presentation of his assets having been rejected. In a case regarded by many as the most significant of its kind in Spanish legal history, 50 arrests have so far been made, including a large number of multi-national, high-profile individuals, many of whom are lawyers
National Police officers on the Costa del Sol have arrested a lawyer and an Israeli administrator in connection to the "White Whale" money laundering investigation. Both men have been linked to the DV Law Firm managed by Fernando del Valle in Marbella which is alleged to have been the hub of a worldwide money laundering operation believed to have handled sums of up to €250 million on behalf of Eastern European mafia groups.


two performers had live sex on a stage in front of dignitaries

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

A comic fair in Spain erupted into scandal after two performers had live sex on a stage in front of dignitaries, according to reports.
Local authorities in the southern Spanish town of Granada threatened to withdraw funding from the International Comic Fair, reports the Guardian and El Pais newspapers.
Organisers "decided to enliven an awards ceremony" for comic books last Friday, reports the Guardian, by paying two actors to have sex on stage.
During the performance actors stormed the stage dressed as burka-clad women and Taleban fighters led by an Osama bin Laden lookalike, according to El Pais.
They burned pictures of icons, including the Virgin Mary and simulated the crash of jets into the World Trade Center Two performers started having sex while others sang songs from the Spanish version of talent show Pop Idol,


two performers had live sex on a stage in front of dignitaries

Posted On Thursday, December 13, 2007 0 comments

A comic fair in Spain erupted into scandal after two performers had live sex on a stage in front of dignitaries, according to reports.
Local authorities in the southern Spanish town of Granada threatened to withdraw funding from the International Comic Fair, reports the Guardian and El Pais newspapers.
Organisers "decided to enliven an awards ceremony" for comic books last Friday, reports the Guardian, by paying two actors to have sex on stage.
During the performance actors stormed the stage dressed as burka-clad women and Taleban fighters led by an Osama bin Laden lookalike, according to El Pais.
They burned pictures of icons, including the Virgin Mary and simulated the crash of jets into the World Trade Center last year, the reports added.
Two performers started having sex while others sang songs from the Spanish version of talent show Pop Idol.


Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Ken Macintyre, 64, was with a friend when they were attacked

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments


Ken Macintyre, 64, was with a friend when they were attacked and robbed near Domino bar in the Spanish holiday resort in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office confirmed: "A man was attacked in an old part of the resort of Benidorm. However, we do not believe that the mugging caused the man's death. We believe that a subsequent incident caused the death of one of the men."
Spanish police said that Mr Macintyre and his friend were both "well-known visitors" to Benidorm.


Spain is going to be bigger than Jamaica or Holland as a cannabis growing

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments



"The Spanish sun is free, and the climate in some parts of the country is good for growing cannabis 10 months a year, but we see indoor growing as superior because it offers a controlled environment, and avoids the possibility of rip-offs and problems with insects and lack of water," Molina said. "Growers can combine indoor and outdoor growing, using their indoor gardens during cool weather, and also getting a head start on making plants for transplanting to outdoors. Pretty soon, Spain is going to be bigger than Jamaica or Holland as a cannabis growing and tourism destination."


home of Antonio Banderas

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments


The home of Antonio Banderas in Marbella will have to be demolished because it has been judged to be illegal.


The brains of the operation Malaya, Juan Antonio Roca

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 1 comments

The brains of the operation Malaya, Juan Antonio Roca, the public prosecutor requested a sentence of 10 years in prison for money laundering, false documents, illegal possession of weapons, trafficking of influences and crimes against regional planning.The Judge said...
Óscar Pérez, the judge now in charge of the Malaya corruption investigation in Marbella, has decided to treat an order for French wines and champagne placed by the man at the centre of the corruption, Juan Antonio Roca, as separate from the main case. The prosecution service argues that the ex Municipal Real Estate assessor planned to pass the cost – more than 850,000 €, onto Marbella Town Hall, although Roca himself has denied the accusation. The investigation will determine if there is any evidence of fraud.
The Management Committee which ran the Town Hall after the Malaya case broke last year until a new local government was formed after the municipal election earlier this year, passed the invoice onto the Anti Corruption prosecutor in July 2006. It was made out to the Town Hall, for the attention of Roca, and included 350 bottles of ‘Petrus 1979,’ at 2,000 € each, and 50 bottles of ‘Dom Perignon,’ at 300 € a bottle.


"We rented a private plane to eat cus-cus in

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments

"We spend four million pesetas in a birthday"
"We rented a private plane to eat cus-cus in
Marruecos ” Morocco "
"The least we always had at home were one hundred million pesetas"
"Julian Munoz has properties in Madrid Barcelona and Seville, and nothing is in your name, just in case."


Isabel PANTOJA MARTIN, born on 07 August 1956 in Seville (Seville), the son of John and Mary, owner of the National Identity Document number 28515553

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments


Brief summary: Isabel PANTOJA MARTIN, born on 07 August 1956 in Seville (Seville), the son of John and Mary, owner of the National Identity Document number 28515553-S.
En Málaga, siendo las 00:05 horas, del día 3 de Mayo de 2007 y en cumplimiento de lo dispuesto en el artículo 520 de la Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal (L.O. 14/83), se procede a poner en conocimiento del epigrafiado que ha sido detenido por su participacíon en un presunto delito de BLANQUEO DE CAPITALES , así como de los derechos que le asisten, consistentes, fundamentalmente. In Malaga, with 00:05 hours of the day on May 3, 2007 and pursuant to the provisions of Article 520 of the Criminal Procedures Act (LO 14/83), is to draw the attention of epigrafiado has been arrested for his participacíon in an alleged crime of MONEY LAUNDERING, as well as the rights, consistent, basically.


Judge Torres just locate in Switzerland a chest Security 2 million Swiss francs

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments

Judge Torres just locate in Switzerland a chest Security 2 million Swiss francs (1.2 million euros) was in the name of one of the presumed front of Rock. Francisco Antonio Soriano Pastor, abogado de Roca encarcelado e imputado por el caso Malaya, al salir de Alhaurín viajó hasta Andorra donde supuestamente intentó vaciar varias cuentas corrientes con dinero de Roca. Francisco Antonio Soriano Shepherd, a lawyer from Rock imprisoned and accused by the Malaysian case, to leave Alhaurín traveled to Andorra where allegedly tried to empty several accounts with money from Roca. Fue el pasado mes de Agosto, cinco meses después de las primeras detenciones. It was last August, five months after the first arrests. El juez Torres esta convencido que estaba rescatando fondos para Roca. The judge is convinced that Torres was rescuing funds for Rock. Dispone de cuentas en Isla de Man, Suiza, Islas Caimán, o las Islas Vírgenes. There are accounts in the Isle of Man, Switzerland, Cayman Islands, or the Virgin Islands.


Judah Binstock has returned to Marbella.

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments

Judah Binstock has returned to Marbella. Muñoz. Just after closing the investigation of Malaya and go to Grenada Judge Torres, the multimillionaire Jewish reappeared, owner of the majority of land in the municipality and alleged sponsor of the motion of censure against Julian Munoz.

He did so in a wheelchair and surrounded by his "gorilla" at a gala dinner and without his wife Josie, who dared to speak a few days ago to journalists of "Tomato", accusing journalists of the situation in which located Marbella after Operation Malaya.

Although Binstock has official residence in Buenos Aires and Paris, where he lives and makes their business really is in Marbella. His immense mansion called Villa Magnolia and his company through which conducts all its business Corporation New Marbella.
How is it possible that in Operation Malaya to stop all those who were part of the motion of censure "amañada" Rock to drive Munoz of the mayoral race and is not acknowledged to testify to the alleged sponsor of this motion? Justice is still time to sit on the bench Judah Binstock. . He is now in Spain.


Judah Binstock connection to corruption in Marbella

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments

An address book with telephone Montaner, Judah Binstock Aki Kuj wing and Raneapino
Among the documents seized Juan Antonio Roca following his arrest in April 2003, shortly before entering custody and work in the summary of the case soqueol, provides a comprehensive phone book, with names of relevant world politics, entertainment and urban businesses. The name "Judah", in allusion to British tycoon of Jewish origin Judah Binstock, is repeated several times. agosto de 2003. The businessman Binstock as he puts his hand that moved the threads of censure against former Mayor Julian Munoz in August 2003. Binstock's relations with the former councilors of tripartite Marbella Isabel Garcia Marcos and Carlos Fernandez, personal friends of the tycoon, are well known and are already spoken former Cabinet chief of the tránsfuga PSOE, Binstock, one of the largest owners of land in Marbella and controversial winner of the casino Sevillian Mairena del Aljarafe has background for various offenses in the UK, and has among its members the lawyer Engelbert Schereiber. This is a practicing lawyer from an office opened in the tax haven of Liechtenstein and accused in the summary by the attacks of 11 September in New York, for his alleged involvement in money laundering for the Al Qaeda terrorist network.

. As regards the former adviser of Public Works of the Board of Andalusia and architect by profession, Jaime Montaner, on the agenda of Rock seized in 2002 appears both a fixed number as a motive. Montaner was the architect who drafted the joint Hotel Senator Marbella, as well as the building of 99 houses sealed by the operator. In just three days, the former adviser got the permission after personally requested his handwriting.. The telephone listing, nine pages extension manuscripts, also appears in t eléfono mobile "A.ki" Kujala, one of the major players involved in the White Whale summary of the case by the alleged money laundering. De hecho, la sociedad Royal Marbella States S.L.. Indeed, the Royal Society SL Marbella States. administrada por Kujala, firmó al menos un convenio con el Consistorio marbellí que le permitió edificar una promoción de viviendas de lujo, anexa al hotel Puente Remano, contraria al Plan General de Ordenación Urbana (PGOU) de 1986. Administered by Kujala, at least signed an agreement with the Consistory Marbella that enabled him to build a promotion of luxury homes, annexed to the hotel Bridge Remano, contrary to the General Urban Plan (PGOU) from 1986. Another recurring phone for Rock in its agenda is the well-known promoter Murcian Olive Thomas, also accused in the summary of the case Malaya. Nombres del mundo del José Asenjo. Names of the bull as the world's clever trianero Emilio Munoz, or farmers or Saturnino Buendía Ignacio Gonzalez Sanchez Dalp also have their place in the address book seized, in addition to the singer's Rancapino or "particular" the former deputy leader and socialist Jose Asenjo.


Insider View translated from the Spanish

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments


Marbella, a beach resort for the "jet set" now emerging as the hub for every mafia connection in Spain. Finally, there is a Swiss connection in the form of the Cultrera-Meninno scandal, which only leads back to Marbella, a beach resort for the "jet set" now emerging as the hub for every Mafia connection in Spain. Felice Cultrera and Gianni Meninno are under investigation in Geneva for fraud and money laundering. Felice Cultrera and Gianni Meninno are under investigation in Geneva for fraud and money laundering. They are also under investigation in Marbella by Judge Blanca Esther Diez, who has uncovered a group of attorneys and judges protecting them. They are also under investigation in Marbella by Judge Esther Blanca Diez, who has uncovered a group of attorneys and judges protecting them. Cultrera and Meninno, who are currently at large, set up corporate fronts in Gibraltar and then made a fortune by selling property that did not belong to them. Cultrera and Meninno, who are currently at large, set up corporate fronts in Gibraltar and then made a fortune by selling property that did not belong to them. Using forged documents, and protected by the Santapaola family of the Italian mafia, they sold the Marbella casino to Italian financier Gioachino del Din, as well as hotels and other real estate on the Costa del Sol. Using forged documents, and protected by the Santapaola family of the Italian Mafia, they sold the Marbella Casino to Italian financier of Gioachino Din, as well as hotels and other real estate on the Costa del Sol. When Spanish police seized Cultrera's address book, they found not only the names of Al-Kassar and Khashoggi, but also that of Philippe Junot, ex-husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco. When Spanish police seized Cultrera's address book, they found not only the names of Al-Kassar and Khashoggi, but also that of Philippe Junot, ex-husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco. Junot's former lawyer, the Argentinean Alberto Mondino, has now become one of Al-Kassar's attorneys. Junot's former lawyer, the Argentinean Alberto Mondino, has now become one of Al-Kassar's attorneys. Also in the address book is the name of Marc Rich, a wealthy Hispanic-American businessman living in Switzerland and sought by the US Internal Revenue Service for tax evasion. Also in the address book is the name of Marc Rich, a wealthy Hispanic-American businessman living in Switzerland and sought by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for tax evasion. Rich, too, has a villa in Marbella. Rich, too, has a villa in Marbella. Prosecutor Ansermet would like to know whether he can confiscate the frozen funds belonging to Al-Kassar in Switzerland, but neither Spanish judge Garzon, nor his colleague Carlos Bueren, has ever responded to Ansermet's legal query as to whether the Syrian's money is the fruit of drug trafficking. Prosecutor Ansermet would like to know whether he can confiscate the frozen funds belonging to Al-Kassar in Switzerland, but neither Spanish judge Garzon, nor his colleague Carlos Bueren, has ever responded to Ansermet's legal query as to whether the Syrian's money is the fruit of drug trafficking. Ansermet would also like to coordinate his investigations into Cultrera and Meninno with the Spanish judge handling that affair, but has yet to receive a response from Spain. Ansermet would also like to coordinate his investigations into Cultrera and Meninno with the Spanish judge handling that affair, but has yet to receive a response from Spain. This silence may point to problems with the Spanish investigation, or to a lack of confidence in Genevan investigators. This silence may point to problems with the Spanish investigation, or to a lack of confidence in Genevan investigators.


The Prince of Marbella, Monzer Al Kassar arrested this morning at the airport in Madrid was taken at 10.30 hours

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments


The National Police announced Friday the arrest in Madrid of Syrian arms dealer Monzer Al Kassar by several charges related to terrorism issued by an American court.
Al Kassar is sought on charges of conspiracy to provide support and material resources to a terrorist organization, to kill Americans, to use and acquire anti-aircraft missiles, and money laundering, police said in a statement.
Al Kassar has long resided in Spain and has been nicknamed the "Prince of Marbella" for his opulent lifestyle.
His home in Marbella remains in custody to avoid the loss of evidence or indication, and will be recorded after statement to Al Kassar, police said.
In 1995, Al Kassar was acquitted of a charge in Spain of piracy in connection with the kidnapping in 1985 of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro by Palestinian gunmen.
Al Kassar was taken to court central instruction number six handcuffed and smiling wearing sportswear and suede shoes, hair canoso and well over avejentado that the last time he appeared before the National High Court ten years ago.


Gil's town plans had not been approved by the Junta de Andalucia

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments


The Marbella Land Registry gives information on ownership of the Land, but not on its planning. It can detail the house that is built as being physically there, but and that it has licences. It is stated that the registry givew the information supplied to it, but it is not a guarantee that it is accurate. This is especially the case with regard to the property description and the price paid.
However, professionals, including Notaries and lawyers, will be held to have known that Gil's town plans had not been approved by the Junta de Andalucia, and therefore permissions granted in conflict with the approved 1986 Plan could not be fully legal.
Therefore, the buildings are illegal and the registered information was known to be incorrect at the time of registration.
The people who gained from the permissions are the ones who should pay the 'price' to reinstate the community for what it has lost. The owners or their advisors should have known the properties were illegal. The developer and contractor and their advisors will have known that the property was illegal. All will have hoped that there would be a storm, they'd ride it out and pay a fine, but that they would get the property and profit.


Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments

Spanish singer Isabel Pantoja has described herself as a victim linked to the Malaya corruption case. For the past three years she has been in a relationship with Julián Muñoz, who was Mayor of Marbella at the time they got together. Speaking in a statement sent to Antena Tres television, she claimed she felt tricked if the published news that Muñoz has been sending large amounts of money to his ex wife Mayte Zaldiver turns out to be true. ‘He told me on repeated occasions that he had no money’, she said. ‘I’ve been working to support him for years!’.


The Andalucian Ombudsman

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments

The Andalucian Ombudsman, José Chamizo, has also supported the demolition of 334 homes in a total of seven developments in Marbella whose licences were annulled by the Andalucian Supreme Court. He said that what justice ordered had to be carried out, however lamentable it was for the owners of the buildings. He said each owner should be looked at on an individual basis to see if they had been tricked into making the purchase, adding that the judiciary should study the alternatives and take the rights of the owners into account.


affect expatriates who are used to buying drugs in Spain

Posted On Wednesday, December 12, 2007 0 comments

The New law, which in some areas has been brought into force early, will affect expatriates who are used to buying drugs in Spain rather than having to face a Spanish speaking doctor. Many doctors in Spain insist on translators who can charge more than a private doctor.

The legislation is to prevent the over use of medicines and health products, guard against inappropriate use, monitor and control given medical prescriptions
It is hoped that greater regulation will create higher quality pharmacists and allow the government to monitor medicines more effectively. The law also provides disease control mechanisms which could cope to restrain outbreaks of avian flu. The law was approved with the help of the disease prevention units of the government with the consent of heath professionals.


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Property Crash

Posted On Tuesday, December 11, 2007 0 comments

The dive was precipitated last week when Valencian builder Astroc’s shares fell by 62 per cent after planning laws were changed. Since then panic has spread causing the Madrid Bourse (Spain’s Stock Exchange) to topple. Manuel Romera, Director of Madrid’s Institute of Industry said, “I can see a mortgage crisis building. We have a serious property bubble in this country and everyone is in denial; it’s worse than the US”.

Dismay has also set into the banks that have been key investors in the market. The banks have been buoying the market by granting easy access to mortgages and loans. Both Banco Sabadell and BankInter both lost 5 percent of their value on Monday as part of the ongoing nightmare.
Low interest rates that have been repeatedly set by the European banks have provided fuel for a housing boom which has operated in Spain almost free from constraints since the Euro arrived in Spain in 1999. Miguel Fernandez Ordonez, Governor of the Bank of Spain said, “The single monetry policy has meant that excessively loose conditions for our economy have been almost continuous. A less relaxed tone would have been better for our needs.”
The economy of Spain is now so seriously distorted towards the property market that some observers have now predicted an imminent collapse. If this occurs it will have a knock-on effect to the rest of the economy.
Last year alone over 800,000 homes were built in Spain beating the productivity in the housing sector for every other European country; yet the population of Spain still remains below 41 million. There are over 4 million overseas owners of property in Spain.
The boom has been partially created from within Spain with many Spaniards hurrying to jump on the property investment ladder. Many Spaniards own more than three houses and remain ‘sitting’ until a buyer can be found. This has fuelled demand for new housing for a younger generation of would-be investors. With few restrictions in planning and national capital growth little thought has been put into the lack of available end buyers at the top of the pyramid. Homes now owned by investors are now seen as a long term option.
Murcia, with presently one of the highest rates of new development may be one of the hardest hit by the recession as a glut of unwanted property comes on the market.
Bernard Connelly, Global Strategist for Banque AIG and former head of economic research for the European Commission said, “Spain is going to face the very direst of economic circumstances: a cycle of recession, deflation and widespread private sector default – a depression in fact.


Friday, December 07, 2007

Dozens of stars from the worlds of sport, music and TV

Posted On Friday, December 07, 2007 0 comments

Dozens of stars from the worlds of sport, music and TV are choosing the elegant Spanish resort as their number one holiday choice.

And many have dabbled in the booming Andalucian property market and bought second homes there.

Marbella and nearby Puerto Banus are favourites with the rich and famous because they boast fine restaurants, exclusive bars and shops full of designer clothes.

David and Victoria Beckham chose the resort's exclusive five-star Marbella Club hotel for a relaxing break when Posh was pregnant with Brooklyn.

And more recently comedian Frank ''Foo Foo'' Lamarr and Coronation Street actress Liz Dawn, who plays Vera Duckworth, have both splashed out on luxury apartments. And Liz's old Street pal Beverley Callard, who played Rovers' barmaid Liz McDonald, has moved to Marbella full-time where she owns a sumptuous villa.

Bury-based You've Been Framed presenter Lisa Riley jets out to Marbella four times a year for party holidays with her pals.

Lisa said: ''I love it. People are so used to seeing famous faces in Marbella that you never get any hassle. I wouldn't go anywhere else.''


Thursday, December 06, 2007

MARBELLA TOWN HALL

Posted On Thursday, December 06, 2007 0 comments

MARBELLA TOWN HALL has put a reserve of 34,650 euros on the Rolls Royce that Jesus Gil used during his time as mayor. The present mayor of Marbella, Angeles Muñoz, announced last August that the Rolls was to be auctioned as it is no longer in use and is being held by the Local Police.
The decision was made to sell off the vehicle partly because of its value and also because of what it symbolises. The car was valued by a municipal specialist. The Rolls Royce along with the BMW X5 that ex-Mayor Marisol Yague used were sent to auction last year but not sold due to the lack of interest by the public. The Rolls Royce was valued at 45,000 euros and the BMW at 25,514 euros. The Rolls Royce Silver Spur was registered in 1992; it has eight cylinders and 173 horsepower. The luxury vehicle was used on various occasions for official undertakings and gala openings. Gil also enjoyed the use of limousines and horse-drawn carriages during his mayoral tenure.


Fernando del Valle

Posted On Thursday, December 06, 2007 0 comments

Fernando del Valle, the founder of the firm of lawyers in Marbella where he has focused the police investigation linked to the network of money laundering, has been hosting his constitutional right not to testify. El detenido no ha hablado ni ante la Policía, ni ante el juez que decretó el lunes por la noche su ingreso en prisión. The detainee has not spoken either to the Police or to the judge who ruled on Monday evening his detention.

Según fuentes cercanas al caso, Fernando del Valle, ha estado “muy tranquilo y sereno” durante las seis horas que ha permanecido en las dependencias del Juzgado de Instrucción número 5 de Marbella. According to sources close to the case, Fernando Valley, has been "very quiet and calm" during the six hours that has remained on the premises of the magistrate No. 5 in Marbella. El letrado, que desde el lunes por la noche está en prisión incondicional, se ha negado en todo momento a hacer declaraciones. The lawyer, who since Monday night is in prison unconditional, it has consistently refused to make statements.

El juez de Marbella (Málaga) Miguel Ángel Torres decretó en la madrugada del lunes la prisión incondicional para Fernando del Valle Vergara, chileno de 57 años, como presunto "cerebro" de la red de blanqueo de dinero que operaba en la Costa del Sol. The judge in Marbella (Malaga) Miguel Angel Torres ordered in the early hours of Monday unconditional prison for Fernando del Valle Vergara, a Chilean of 57 years, as alleged "mastermind" of the money laundering network operating on the Costa del Sol.

A media mañana del martes, del Valle ha ingresado en la prisión de provincial de Alhaurín de la Torre. At mid-morning on Tuesday, the Valley has entered the provincial prison of Alhaurin de la Torre.

Por el contrario, el juez ha dejado en libertad bajo fianza de 30.000 euros a una secretaria de su bufete, cuya identidad se desconoce. By contrast, the judge has been released on bail of 30,000 euros to a secretary of his law firm, whose identity is unknown.



Nueve de los 49 detenidos ya están en prisión Nine of the 49 detainees were already in jail

Con el ingreso en prisión del abogado Fernando del Valle, el juez Miguel Ángel Torres ha enviado ya a la cárcel a nueve de los 41 detenidos en esta operación, la mayor desarrollada en España contra el blanqueo de dinero. With the detention of lawyer Fernando del Valle, Judge Miguel Angel Torres has already sent to jail for nine of the 41 arrested in this operation, the largest developed in Spain against money laundering. Sin embargo, los arrestados podrían ser diez si se confirma la detención de un ciudadano francés que ha declarado esta madrugada y al que se pudo ver salir de los juzgados en un furgón policial, junto con un marroquí para que se decretó prisión. However, those arrested could be ten if it is confirmed the arrest of a French citizen who has declared this morning and saw that leave courthouse in a police van, along with a Moroccan who was ordered to prison.

El abogado Fernando del Valle, chileno de nacionalidad, de 54 años, se dio de alta en el Colegio de Abogados de Málaga el 10 de enero de 1980 con el número de colegiación 579. The lawyer Fernando del Valle, a Chilean national, 54 years old, was given up for the Bar Association of Malaga on January 10, 1980 with the number of membership 579.

Entre estas actividades ilegales que se podrían haber beneficiado de esta trama constan el tráfico ilícito de drogas, homicidios, tenencia ilícita de armas, prostitución coactiva, secuestros, ajustes de cuentas, estafas internacionales, evasión de impuestos y fraudes bursátiles, entre otras. These illegal activities that could have benefited from this scheme consists illicit drug trafficking, murder, illegal possession of weapons, prostitution coercive kidnappings, the settling of scores, international scam, tax evasion and securities fraud, among others.

Los agentes practicaron 15 detenciones el pasado jueves en ése despacho de letrados, en el corazón financiero de Marbella, mientras otras tres personas fueron arrestadas en la oficina de la misma empresa en el núcleo de población marbellí de San Pedro Alcántara. The players practiced 15 arrests last Thursday of lawyers in this office, in the financial heart of Marbella, while three others were arrested at the office of the same company at the heart of Marbella population of San Pedro Alcantara.


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