Antonio Ordinas, the former head of the islands' public-run Economic Development Consortium (CDEIB), and his wife, the historian and opera singer Isab

Eight people were arrested in Majorca on Monday in the latest investigation of corruption by the previous Popular Party regional government of the Balearic Islands.
Antonio Ordinas, the former head of the islands' public-run Economic Development Consortium (CDEIB), and his wife, the historian and opera singer Isabel Rosselló, were arrested as key suspects in the case. Their home, a two-storey mansion with a seven-car garage outside Palma, was searched by police along with the offices of advertising firms and consultancies connected with Ordinas. The investigation involves illegal contracts, false accounting and theft at the CDEIB until 2007, when the PP administration of former premier Jaume Matas lost power, leaving a EUR 8 million loss in the CDEIB's accounts. The current investigation was started by the Socialist officials who took over the consortium and found EUR 17,000 in unexplained expenses charged by Ordinas. Further examination of accounts revealed false expenses and questionable contracts worth up to EUR 1 million. At least three other corruption cases were opened relating to Matas' rule.

Gennadios Petrov, the alleged head of the Tambovskaya-Malyshevkaya gang in Spain

Gennadios Petrov, the alleged head of the Russian mafia in Spain.Petrov is said to head the Tambovskaya-Malyshevkaya gang from the sunny climes of Calvi, one of the most exclusive villages in Majorca. He counted among his neighbours Pilar de Borbón, the sister of King Juan Carlos of Spain.Accustomed to handing out tips of €500 (£393) and not looking at the price tag when buying designer jackets, Petrov lived surrounded by tight security. But the peace at his €20m mansion was rudely interrupted when the Spanish police came knocking on Friday.In a major operation, codenamed Troika, 20 alleged members of the organised crime organisation said to have been led by Petrov were arrested in Majorca, Málaga, Alicante, Valencia and Madrid. Police seized 23 luxury cars including Bentleys and Ferraris and €200,000 in cash.The Dalí painting, signed by the Surrealist master and dated 1949, was found at a luxury mansion in Valencia linked to Petrov. More than 100 bank accounts containing a reported €14m were also frozen.Spain’s leading anti-terrorist judge, Baltasar Garzón, who tried to prosecute former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, charged Petrov and 17 others with a variety of offences including money-laundering, murder, extortion, drug dealing, illicit association, falsification of documents and tax fraud. They will appear before a maximum security court in Madrid today.The gang, said to be one of the most brutal in Russia, allegedly set up a web of front companies in Spain to launder millions in illegal property deals gained from criminal activities in Russia and the former Soviet states.After the raids, which involved 300 police, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the interior minister, said: “This is the largest crackdown on organised crime in Europe.”The operation was carried out with the help of German, US and Russian police.Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Russian mafia has gained ground in Spain, exploiting lax property laws and limited police resources to launder millions in property deals through bogus firms and into tax havens such as Gibraltar. Petrov, who is in his 50s, arrived in Spain in the early 90s, and allegedly used cash from the former KGB and communist party to buy a luxury hotel in Majorca.Operation Troika is the latest stage of an ongoing investigation into the Russian mafia in Spain, which began in 2005 with the arrest of 28 suspects.

Corruption case prosecution will be asking for a six-year jail sentence for Hidalgo and Gibert

The former mayor of Andraitx, Eugenio Hidalgo, together with Jaime Gibert, the former Andraitx planning inspector, Jaime Massot, an ex-Balearic government planning chief, and a former legal advisor, Ignacio Mir, are expected to be present on the first day of the proceedings.The prosecution will be asking for a six-year jail sentence for Hidalgo and Gibert, with two years for Massot and 12 months for Mir.
This case came to light 18 months ago when the Guardia Civil serious fraud squad launched an operation called ‘Voramar’ which included a raid on Andraitx Town Hall and various properties and offices in Palma.
This investigation really did open a can of worms and all kinds of planning irregularities and corruption scandals were uncovered, which hit the front pages of newspapers all over Spain. The enquiry also resulted in the ruling political party, the Partido Popular, losing control of Andraitx Council and their defeat in the local elections last year.corruption case involving Andraitx Council has begun this week.

Juan Antonio Roca attempted robbery at Cala d'Or villa

A 45 year old Austrian woman with no previous criminal record is on bail pending trial after being arrested for attempting to steal a number of high-value items from a chalet in Cala d'Or (Mallorca) belonging to Juan Antonio Roca, who is one of the main suspects in the 'Operación Malaya' Marbella council corruption case. The woman was caught red-handed with various valuable paintings, candelabra, and mirrors in the back of her Renault Laguna car that was parked outside the seaside property that had been sealed off with police tape. Before her release on bail, the woman was held for several days at the Guardia Civil barracks in Manacor.
A spokeman for the investiagting team has indicated that the inquiry remains open and further arrests are not being ruled out.

Ola Brunkert bled to death after a shard of glass pierced his neck

Civil Guard headquarters in Madrid said: "All the indications are that this was a tragic accident. "A glass door in the kitchen of the house was shattered and it appears that this man fell through the door. "He then managed to get out into the garden where he died."Brunkert had been a jazz drummer and a member of the blues band Slim's Blues Gang, before joining the pop group Science Poption in the mid-1960s. His first-known session with Abba was also the group's first single, People Need Love. Brunkert was one of only two musicians to appear on all of Abba's albums.

Ola Brunkert, the session drummer heard on nearly every Abba hit the legendary Swedish band had in the 1970s and early 1980s, has died after a freak accident on the Spanish holiday island of Majorca, local justice authorities said Monday.
The 61-year-old apparently bled to death after a shard of glass pierced his neck when he stumbled through a glass door leading from the kitchen to the garden of his holiday home where he lived alone. Authorities said after an initial post mortem examination that the musician apparently lost consciousness after falling, and then bled to death. The drummer was discovered by a neighbour who late Sunday chanced by the house, which is in a compound of holiday homes near Areta, in the east of Majorca. Authorities said the compound was largely empty during the winter months - accounting for no one being immediately available to offer first aid. Brunkert was one of the most sought-after session drummers in Sweden in the 1970s, and played in a variety of jazz and blues bands as well as on the Abba hits that dominated pop music from their 1974 hit Waterloo to the band's break-up in 1982.