Bernard Madoff, the disgraced New York broker, sent 150 million dollars to a bank in Gib.

Bernard Madoff, the disgraced New York broker, sent 150 million dollars to a bank in Gibraltar. El Mundo reports that the transfer was made in the name of a company based in the Virgin Islands called Vizcaya Partners Ltd. a month before he was arrested.
The lawyer given the job of liquidating Madoff’s assets, Irving Picard, is now trying to recover the money from the branch of the Swiss bank, Jabob Safra, on Gibraltar.

Princess Anne Wednesday arrived in Gibraltar on a three-day official visit that has sparked complaints from Spain

Princess Anne Wednesday arrived in Gibraltar on a three-day official visit that has sparked complaints from Spain which contests London's rule over the strategic territory.The princess flew into Gibraltar on a Royal Air Force jet for her second visit in four years to the largely self-governing British outpost which lies at the western entrance to the Mediterranean.Her programme includes a walk-about in the city centre, a tour of a British naval base headquarters and the opening of a military medical centre which carries her name and is located on the isthmus that links the Rock to the land frontier with Spain.As with previous trips by British royals to Gibraltar, the visit has met with opposition in Spain.Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Angel Lossada telephoned the British Ambassador in Madrid, Denise Holt, to express Madrid's displeasure when he was first informed of the princess' visit.Centre-right daily newspaper El Mundo called the visit "inopportune" in an editorial last month while Jose Ignacio Landaluce, a lawmaker with the conservative opposition Popular Party, blasted it as "an affront to Spain".The visit comes as Madrid steps up claims that Gibraltar does not have territorial waters because this was not specified in the 1713 treaty of Utrecht under which Spain ceded the Rock to Britain, following its capture in 1704.Britain does not agree with Spain's contention. The naval base which Princess Anne will tour on Thursday houses two armed Royal Navy patrol boats which are the first line of defence of British territorial waters around the Rock.The princess visited Gibraltar in 2004 to mark the 300th anniversary of British rule over the territory.Spain also protested in 1954 when Queen Elizabeth II made her first and only visit to Gibraltar.Zapatero administration consider the visit inopportune, and ‘wounding the sensitivity’ of the Spanish people.In particular they are upset that the Princess will be opening a military clinic, which will bear her name, while on the Rock, the Princess Royal Medical Centre, and that it is built, according to the Spanish, on the isthmus which links the Rock to the mainland, an area which Spain did not hand to the British Crown in the Treaty of Utrecht.

400,000 mainly small investors in Spain had put their money in stamps, through programmes marketed by two companies, Afinsa and Forum.

With today being the second anniversary of Spain's biggest stamp scandal, it has emerged that the Spanish authorities have requested the cooperation of Gibraltar, via Interpol, to try and establish a possible Gibraltar link.
Over 400,000 mainly small investors in Spain had put their money in stamps, through programmes marketed by two companies, Afinsa and Forum. But, in total, they ended up losing 6 billion euros.Spanish police suspect that the ex directors of the two firms may have diverted money through a number of countries, including Gibraltar. They simulated the purchase and sale of stamps, but values were exaggerated artificially. The other countries mentioned include Andorra, Germany, Italy, Canada and the British Virgin Islands.It is also believed that there were cases of property corruption and money laundering on the Costa del Sol by those implicated.But progress has been slow on the judicial front. The traditional slowness of the Spanish justice system was worsened by a strike of officials.
Many of the investors affected keep asking why progress has been so slow and are demanding that something be done to enable them regain their savings and investments.

Russian gang has been given the job of kidnapping Mark Thatcher and taking him to Equatorial Guinea

Russian gang has been given the job of kidnapping Mark Thatcher and taking him to Equatorial Guinea There are more claims in the press today about the situation of Sir Mark Thatcher who got married in a quiet ceremony on Gibraltar last week.
The Gibraltar Chronicle met him in the Rock Hotel yesterday and he told the paper that he would be on the Rock for a few days. He dismissed the suggestion, made in some parts of the Spanish media, that Sir Mark had returned to rock from Spain as he is wanted by the authorities in Equatorial Guinea, the former Spanish colony, after being implicated in the alleged funding of a coup attempt there in 2004. There is no extradition treaty in place between the UK and Gibraltar and the African country.
However Margaret Thatcher’s son denied that was his reason for remaining in Gibraltar, despite some reports of him owning property in Sotogrande, or renting in Marbella, over the border in Spain.Today brings new reports from the specialist United States newsletter, G2 Bulletin, have claimed that British agents based on the Costa del Sol have intercepted phone calls made between members of the Equatorial Guinea regime and a Russian gang called the Rising Sun. The reports say that the gang is involved in shipping cocaine into Europe, via Spain and West Africa.
The Gibraltar Chronicle says there is little evidence to indicate that Sir Mark is concerned about any possible kidnap plat which has been alleged.

Gibraltar non co-operatation in Spain’s fight against money laundering

The government of Spain has requested has requested the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) to return Gibraltar to its list of non-cooperative off-shore financial services centre because of its ‘opacity’ and its location close to the Costa del Sol, as part of Spain’s fight against money laundering.The OECD has so far considered the Rock ‘co-operative’ because of its ‘commitment to European law and response to recommendations made by international organizations such as the International Financial Action Group.Nevertheless, Spain alleges that Gibraltar makes no effort to co-operate with the fiscal services of its northern neighbour, despite the fact that the British Colony is in a ‘risk zone’ between Southern Spain and Northern Africa, as well as close to the Costa del Sol, where ‘real estate’ corruption, money laundering and drug trafficking are present.Over the last few years, Gibraltar has become a ‘paradise’ for online gambling, which is also a worry for experts in money laundering techniques, and is an international financial centre that is ‘not as modest as the Gibraltar authorities insist on saying.
The Rock has close to 30,000 inhabitants, yet is home to 19 banks, 10 branches of international organizations, 17 insurance companies, over 30 insurance brokers, 30 investment companies, 15 money exchange offices and 28,000 active companies of various denominations. Spain considers these facts as contributing to the colony’s ‘opacity’ and puts forward an example: neither Britain nor Gibraltar were willing to co-operate with investigations into the ‘Ballena Blanca’ case uncovered in Marbella. Sources close to the Spanish Ministry of Economy and to others such as the Banco de España and the National Stock Exchange Commission have stated that, in terms of fiscal control, ‘nothing has advanced as far as Gibraltar is concerned’.
Therefore Madrid wants Gibraltar to once again be placed on the ‘black list’ of uncooperative off-shore centres that includes Andorra, Liberia, Liechtenstein, the Marshall Islands and Monaco, among others.

10-kilo stash stolen from a storeroom at the New Mole House police station turns up in Taraguilla

The Guardia Civil recently raided a house in Taraguilla and arrested two Spaniards and seized the drugs, 15,540 euros and several firearms.
Gibraltar Police are trying to establish whether there is a link between the find and the drugs that went missing from the exhibits room at police headquarters.
Gibraltar detectives are checking whether 350 grams of pure cocaine seized by the Guardia Civil in San Roque came from a 10-kilo stash stolen from a storeroom at the New Mole House police station.
Spanish law enforcement agencies are working closely with Gibraltar police on this case. There is a limited market on the Rock for cocaine and it is believed it could have been taken to Spain. Hence police both sides of the border are following up all significant cocaine busts in southern Spain to see if there is any link to Gibraltar.

Crewseekers:Watch what you deliver

Trevor Collenette, 51, was arrested in Gibraltar in June after customs found £8m of cocaine on the yacht he was on.
He was with three other people delivering the yacht from the Caribbean to Gibraltar.
He was freed on Tuesday after no links were found between him and the drugs.
183 drug slabs
James Neish, a journalist in Gibraltar, who has spoken to Mr Collenette, said: "He spent almost two months in prison and he has described the whole experience as a nightmare.
"As far as he is concerned he just wants to resume his normal life."
Mr Collennette and the others, skipper Jonathan Kelway and crew Martin Genocchio and Kathryn Burman, set sail in May on the yacht from St Lucia in the Caribbean with the aim of delivering it to Gibraltar for its owner.
They had been brought together through the established agency Crewseekers.
The crew arrived in Gibraltar on 4 June and soon afterwards customs found 183 slabs of cocaine valued at £8m in a concealed compartment on the yacht.
All four of the crew were arrested and accused of possession, possession with intent to supply and importation of drugs.
The yacht is reported to be registered to a Gibraltar company and owned by a Croatian national.
Mr Genocchio and Ms Burman have also been released and Mr Kelway is on bail.

Gibraltar Banks snitch to U.K.government

Britons who have a house or apartment in Spain and rent it out are advised to tell the UK tax authorities. This applies even if the amount earned just covers their maintenance costs.Gibraltar banks have been forced to disclose all the details of their accounts to U.K.government who have set up a special investigation department to prosecute all account holders who have not declared property or business holdings in Spain.
Owners are advised they should declare any extra income of this sort. If you haven't made a declaration before and hence it relates to a return outside the current tax period, then you will need to make a separate disclosure and explain the circumstances.
As with all dealing with the tax agency experts say that if you make a
voluntary disclosure this will be in your favour. They say: "Tell the tax man everything and in this way you should avoid a full-scale tax inquiry into your affairs."
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will advise you about the additional tax you will have to pay, including interest on any late payment, which is about 7.5 per cent a year. You are also advised to seek professional advice from an accountant before contacting the HMRC so as to avoid a penalty for negligence.

New Flame shape of disasters to come in the overcrowded straits.

To date 217 tonnes of oil and other waste said to be from the New Flame has been washed up on beaches in Algeciras. The on-going work to clear up this residue from the wreck has now been hampered by the bad weather conditions. The latest arrival on the shoreline has been a large amount of ash. The Gibraltar Government has doubted whether this debris is from the semi-submerged vessel but says that if scientific tests prove that it is then it will pay for the clean-up operation.
The Gibraltar Government has stated that from the middle of this month a new salvage operation will be undertaken on the cargo vessel New Flame. This will be carried out by one of the leaders in the field, Titan Maritime, after previous efforts by a Greek salvage company were abandoned due to cost and technical problems.
The Panamanian cargo Vessel NEW FLAME, carrying a cargo of scrap metal and the Danish Product Tanker TORM GERTRUDE collided in Gibraltar waters, 1 kilometre south of Europa Point, Gibraltar at 05.55 hrs , Sunday 12th August 2007.
The NEW FLAME had just left Gibraltar bound for Turkey. The TORM GERTRUDE was heading inbound for the Port of Algeciras in Spain from the Eastern Mediterranean.
As a result of the collision both vessels were damaged. The TORM GERTRUDE proceeded to the Port of Algeciras in Spain. The vessel is currently in a safe condition.
The damage sustained by the NEW FLAME resulted in her taking in water with Nos. 1 and 2 holds being completely flooded. This caused the vessel to start sinking by the bow, at which point the crew of 23 abandoned ship safely.
The vessel then drifted to a nearby reef, where it came to rest. The current situation is that the bow of the vessel is resting on the reef and the remainder of the vessel, from amidships to the stern, is above the surface of the water.

Moratinos has defended the Spanish government's record over the New Flame claiming it had taken the necessary steps to protect the environment and was taking a keen interest in the matter. The Ministry of the Environment is maintaining a surveillance operation in the bay and ten specially trained technicians are on stand-by to deal with any pollution threat.

Guardia Civil working undercover in Gibraltar ?

The Guardia Civil was giving evidence in the trial , which sees nine Guardia Civil officers and a number of civilians facing charges of smuggling cigarettes from Gibraltar across the border into Spain. The officer said he worked in a shop owned by an Indian businessman. That covers a five or six-month period although the accused claim he was working there for 18 months. He said he worked in the shop and every 15 days made a report on what he had seen to his commanding officer. Héctor Manuel S M has admitted in court that he worked in a shop in Gibraltar selling cigarettes as part of the investigation. He added that he did not know whether the Spanish Ministry of Defence had notified the British authorities that he was on assignment outside of Spain.
This contradicts the testimonies given by the accused. They claim that the agent helped them hide the cigarettes in their crash helmets and in their clothing.