Costa de Cabanas development

Fugitive solicitor Michael Lynn is at the centre of a new fraud probe after Hungarian police received complaints about his property dealings there.
The lawyer who fled Ireland owing €83m in multiple-mortgage debts was in Budapest as recently as Tuesday in a desperate bid to keep his property empire float.
Police have launched the fraud investigation following the collapse of a 156-apartment development owned by the fugitive solicitor into which Irish SSIA investors have ploughed their savings.
An Irish Independent investigation has found:
l Lynn began selling off his foreign companies weeks before he absconded last December. l He recently gave one Hungarian colleague power of attorney over his affairs "for the whole term of my incapacitation".
l Complaints were filed with the police in Budapest after the 156 apartment Sziv 61, owned by Lynn's Croi 61-- translated as Heart 61 -- was abandoned by builders in December.
l Lynn's wife, Brid Murphy, is expected next week to challenge a raid on the home she shared with Lynn at St Albans, Sandymount, by the Dublin Sheriff's office.
The news from Hungary will come as a major blow to individual Irish backers, who have already laid down tens of thousands in deposits for the Sviz 61 apartments and townhouses.
Builders walked off the Sziv 61 site last December, unaware that Lynn had in fact sold it on November 30, and complained to police after "questionable" agents claimed they were representing the Mayo-born lawyer.
"A few questionable companies and civilians turned up 'representing' Michael Lynn and handled in some fake authorisations that they could act on behalf of Lynn," said Attila Toth, the head of the Plan 60 building company.
"We rejected these authorisations and reported it to the police as our lawyers thought it was a question of forgery and fraud."
Documents filed with the Hungarian companies registrar show Lynn sold on Croi 61 on November 30. It was bought out by Raspotec, which shares Croi 61's Hungarian address and is ultimately owned by Cyprus-based Morgar Trading.
Mr Toth, however, was not made aware of any changes of ownership.
The builder now says the equivalent of €1m in fresh funds is needed to complete the development. Failing this, he plans to pursue Croi 61 for the equivalent of about €370,000 in penalties.
News of the Hungarian police probe comes as the Irish legal community braces itself for fresh "revelations" about the scandal that are expected to unfold in the High Court on Monday.
The Dublin Sheriff's office recently broke locks to get access to Lynn's Sandymount home. Officials removed several items, including boxes of "reasonably good" French wine; chairs, tables, mirrors, a washing machine, tumble dryer and microwave.
Seized
The items were seized on the back of High Court orders obtained by the banks last month, but his wife Brid has claimed that, as a joint owner, she was not given due notice of the raid and is seeking the return of items owned by her.
Lynn's Hungarian dealings were uncovered during an extensive Irish Independent trawl of the Mayoman's overseas companies.
The review of his main holding companies reveals the solicitor remains the sole owner of several companies in his main markets of Bulgaria and Hungary.
The ownership structure of Lynn's Portuguese operations, which are behind Costa de Cabanas -- his largest remaining development -- remains unclear as they don't have to file ownership information.
Accounts for Lynn's eastern European holding companies show the largest company has accumulated profits of less than €400,000, which will provide little comfort to banks and investors who are owed millions.
Apartment
In Hungary, Lynn's Kendar property firm was supposed to be building out Sziv 61, 49 apartments in Budapest's Eotvos Street and 105 apartments in Budapest's Amber Square.
Sziv 61, which translates to Heart 61 in English, is owned by Hungarian registered Croi 61.
Croi 61 was founded by Michael Lynn in 2005 and owned by the Mayoman until November 30.
Lawyers tidying up Mr Lynn's Hungarian affairs have previously said that money for Amber Square seemed to be "completely gone" while Eotvos is expected to be built out.
In Bulgaria, local representatives insisted before Christmas that a ski development in Bansko would be completed. The office did not answer calls this week.
Meanwhile, files at the Sofia court house show Lynn is the sole owner of Kendar Bulgaria.
Calls to Portuguese manager Nuno Paulino were not returned this week.
Mr Paulino is responsible for building Kendar's most prestigious project, the 282- property Costa de Cabanas development in the Algarve, in Portugal.

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Viva Estates agency hit by recession

Viva Estates agency that claims to be the Costa del Sol’s largest has laid off 120 of its 160 staff.has shut 95 per cent of its offices in a bid to fight the current recession.
The company has seen sales figures drop by over two thirds since 2003.
In 2007 the agency achieved just 550 completions, in comparison to 1,500 in 2003.
In a desperate bid to save the business, it has shut 13 out of its 14 offices, including flagship branches in Puerto Banus, Fuengirola and Alhaurin, and cut back on its huge UK advertising bill.
Blaming the collapse on the internet and the corruption scandals that have engulfed Andalucia,
“The boom brought a lot of cash to the Costa del Sol and every Tom, Dick and Harry coming in to try and make money.
“But most clients now use the internet and where offices were getting an average of 60 walk-in clients a month five years ago, last year they got just six
“With various town halls raping their coffers to the tune of hundreds of millions of euros it has not helped.”
The company is now functioning on a skeleton staff of 40 from the main office in El Rosario, between Marbella and Calahonda.
“I am optimistic that we will still be here when the market comes back. I lived through the last boom, when no-one had any money and everyone drove old bangers.

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The foreign property owner in Spain a species in danger of extinction

In Spain, a whopping 96% of mortgages are on floating rates, rather than fixes - so every rise hurts almost every mortgage holder.
It looks like the Spanish may be the first group of Europeans to experience a painful ending to the global property boom.
Last week, the Ibex index in Madrid was battered as shares in Valencia-based builder Astroc dived after its accounts revealed that some of last year's profits came from the sale of assets to its chairman, leading to fears that the company was trying to prop up its share price. Its fellow building stocks took a tumble as the fears spread to wider concerns about the property market in general. Spanish house prices have risen 270% in the past 10 years. But now house price growth is faltering, slowing from annual double-digit gains to growth of 7.2% in the first quarter of this year. In many areas, the Costa del Sol included, prices are falling.
And the truth is that the statistics on the Spanish property market make for frankly terrifying reading for anyone who is thinking of, or is already, investing there.
Massive oversupply
The supply and demand statistics are awful for a start. More than 800,000 homes were built last year - that's more than France, Germany and Italy combined. That's even though Spain has the lowest birth rate in the EU, along with Italy – women now have just 1.3 children on average.
That's all bad enough - but Spain's market is also unusually vulnerable to rising interest rates and panicky speculators. In a country of 40 million people, four million foreigners own property, including 250,000 British people.
One of the main reasons that property bulls - and sometimes more sober experts - often claim that house prices won't fall is because if you own a home, and prices are falling, you will tend to hold off selling unless you absolutely have to. So the supply of homes on the market dries up, keeping supply and demand broadly balanced, meaning prices remain roughly stable, until conditions pick up again.
No desire for many to hold
This is debatable on many levels - but even if you accept that argument, the problem for a market like Spain is that holiday home owners and fly-to-letters have neither the desire, nor in many cases, the financial reserves to sit on a property that is falling in value. And that's not even considering the number of ex-pats who emigrate, only to turn around and come back within the first few years of moving.
On top of that, many second home-owners are largely relying on money released by remortgaging their main residential property. So with interest rates rising, for example, in the UK, sustaining two homes is becoming more difficult for all those property moguls who have overstretched themselves to buy their place in the sun.
European handcuffs
In Spain, the situation with interest rates is even more grim. Because it's part of the eurozone, Spain can't set its own interest rates. And the reality is that eurozone rates are largely set with Germany in mind. The trouble is, Germany has been at pretty much the opposite end of the business cycle from the rest of the world (except maybe Japan) for about 10 years now. Rates were very low when Spain joined the euro, which fuelled the boom in the first place - as Bank of Spain governor Miguel Fernandez Ordonez says: "The single monetary policy has meant that excessively loose conditions for our economy have been almost continuous."

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Small constructors and developers have closed down

Prices are falling in some areas, but because many properties are second or holiday homes, owners are reluctant to drop asking prices, unless they are anxious to sell. It was reported that many small constructors and developers have closed down in the past few months in the Valencia region, about 20% of the 13, 000 plus. Many of these small enterprises are in fact, front companies for the larger ones- they hire the illegal workers, enter into the shady deals, etc. and when things go wrong they simply fold their tents, declare bankruptcy and disappear. While the number of employees in major enterprises has recently shown a small increase, these numbers do not account for the thousands of contract , temporary or illegal workers who have been let go in recent months. To avoid paying for the August vacation or being forced to hire on a permanent basis, many thousands of construction workers were dropped at the beginning of the summer holiday period. There appears to be no way of knowing how many have been hired again, but the downturn in construction suggests that very few have work-and most have no social security net to fall back upon.

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The price of second homes in the Mediterranean could fall

The price of second homes in the Mediterranean could fall as a result of the credit crisis, a leading property expert has warned.
Michael Ball, a professor of property at Reading ¬University, England, and an adviser to the UK government, said holiday homes in many parts of Europe were exposed to a correction.
Not only had prices risen fast amid speculative interest and the easy availability of credit, but the supply of new flats had been increasing at a prolific rate.
Prof Ball pinpointed the Mediterranean and central and eastern Europe as being particularly “vulnerable” to falling prices.
“There are a variety of reasons in that in both of those areas, credit has been used and people have been very optimistic about long term values,” he told an audience of property professionals on Thursday night.
“There has been a boom, the market has been driven by foreign investors and now that is beginning to turn.”
The professor cited, as an example, Estonia, where house prices had dropped by an estimated 10 per cent in the past 12 months. “That will probably trickle through to other countries,” he said.
Savills, the estate agency, says the value of British-owned homes overseas have risen from £7bn in 1994 to £52bn ($106bn, €75bn) today through new purchases and rising prices.
The most common motive of buyers is to make a profit – rather than to have somewhere to go on holiday – according to a survey by the company. This speculation might have made some markets even more precarious. Some buyers might have overestimated the potential rental returns that they can get through letting these properties.
Prof Ball said many such markets were “risky” because there was no history of what fundamental values should be.
Ian Marcus, head of European real estate at Credit Suisse, said he believed there was “a large over-supply” of holiday homes in many European resorts.
The warnings come amid widespread price falls in the second home markets of Florida with some resorts seeing double-digit drops in the past year. The number of home sales in Florida dropped 43 per cent between the first and second quarter.
In Spain, demand for second homes on the Mediterranean coast has been softening for two years, according to estate agents. Many have reported a virtual standstill since May after a series of corruption scandals and a collapse in property¬related shares.
At least one mid-sized developer – Llanera – faces bankruptcy. One central bank official in Madrid said: “There is growing evidence that smaller real estate companies and house-builders who launched projects late in the cycle may have problems.”

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18,000 dwellings were built illegally during the administration of Jesus Gil

18,000 dwellings were built illegally during the administration of Jesus Gil and his local party, GIL. The Junta de Andalucia (socialist) and the new town council of the town (PP) are discussing how to resolve the situation. The Junta presented a General Plan in which it foresees “a revision and regularisation” of the illegal construction, plus construction of 50,000 new dwellings over 10 years and a declaration of 3.8 million m2 as green zones. However, part of the new green zones is declared as “urbanizable” in the previous general plan (meaning earmarked for construction). If the land is expropriated, the private owners may get only 30 to 35 Euro per m2 against the 800 which they paid
The solution may be to demand contributions from the promoters/owners of the illegally constructed dwellings. Since many of the promoting companies from the Gil Era have disappeared, this will mean private owners of the illegal dwellings will be presented with the bill. The new mayor, Angela Muñoz, recommended the people affected should present official complaints. The lawyers are looking forward to year long process.

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The Andalucian Ombudsman, Jose Chamizo has supported the demolition of 334 homes in a total of seven developments in Marbella.

Antonio Banderas luxury home La Gaviota built practically on the beach.
will be bulldozed.

The Andalucian Ombudsman, Jose Chamizo has supported the demolition of 334 homes in a total of seven developments in Marbella.
Marbella and in El Palmar, Cadiz, hundreds of houses are expected to get bulldozed this year.In Malaga, the Prasa hotel on Estepona’s beachfront is expected to be knocked down imminently, with the coastal authorities having agreed to stump up the 1.2million euro bill.Marbella town hall is also likely to soon announce the demolition of dozens of buildings, including the infamous Banana Beach development built on green land.
In Obeja, Cordoba, over 30 policemen were on hand to keep the angry residents away from their properties as the bulldozers moved in.
Grown men wept dusty tears, as their country retreats on the Pedrique urbanisation, in the heart of the Sierra Morena, were levelled to the ground.
An ambulance had to be called when one owner collapsed after suffering a panic attack.
It took two bulldozers only half a day to demolish the group of houses that number five of over 100 illegally built at Pedrique.
The residents belongings stood poignantly on their carefully clipped lawns as the diggers moved in.
One owner Antonio Moreno had moved here permanently after suffering depression following retirement.
“This situation has only made it considerably worse,” explained his wife Maria Moreno.
The case began when three years ago a promoter Francisco Otero sold the shells of the buildings to the five individuals.
What the buyers didn’t know was that Otero had never attempted to get planning permission “because he knew he would not get it”.
The case ended in court with Otero found guilty of both planning crimes and disobedience. In 2006 he was sentenced to a 20 months in prison and fined 2,500 euros.
He was also ordered to demolish the buildings at his own cost.
This week, the furious owners – who have begun proceedings against Otero - demanded to know why the town hall or local police had not advised them of the illegality of their homes.
“When he sold us the terrain he said the town hall was legalising the whole urbanisation, said Fernando Lora. “Why didn’t anyone come and tell us what might happen when we were finishing the houses.
“We are the victims of a completely unfair crime.”
A spokesman for environment group Ecologistas en Accion appauded the decision of the courts to order the demolition.
“They started building these homes in the 1970s in the Sierras above Cordoba. It has ruined the area and we salute the authorities for moving in.”
Around the province of Cordoba various other demolitions have been scheduled.
Apart from the other 100 homes at Pedrique, at Medina Azahara, UNESCO has demanded that 240 illegal houses built on highly protected land are knocked down.
At least one property in the area of Las Monjas in Puente Genil is expected to be demolished, while another at San Cristobal will be axed for “gravely destroying the countryside”.
The situation is similar in Granada where the town hall has just ordered the demolition of eight houses in an area of special protection known as Cantogrande, while another two have been ordered to be knocked down in Bobadilla and Serrallo.
They are some of over 40 houses ordered to be demolished in 2007 and owners have a month to appeal or submit and pay the town hall 600 euros to help fund the demolition.
In Cadiz the mayor of Vejer is hoping to legalise 280 houses that have been built without licences on the beach at El Palmer, but this still leaves over 1,000 illegal houses in the area.
At the same time the town hall has just ordered work to stop on 35 houses in the Padron area, which has never been designated as building land.
Marbella town hall is also likely to soon announce the demolition of dozens of buildings, including the infamous Banana Beach development built on green land and even Antonio Banderas luxury home La Gaviota built practically on the beach.
In total, there are more than 400 developments facing the axe in the town.
The President of the Marbella Management Committee, Diego Martin Reyes, has said he is worried about the situation, but that he was convinced that the firm sentence from the Andalucian Supreme Court ordering demolition should be carried out.

Meanwhile the Andalucian Ombudsman, Jose Chamizo has supported the demolition of 334 homes in a total of seven developments in Marbella.

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Seven people who were being held hostage in Lepe

A group of seven people who were being held hostage in Lepe and Cartaya, Huelva province, were freed this weekend, in a Civil Guard operation which took the seven kidnappers into custody. EFE says two of the kidnappers lived in Cartaya, itself, three others from elsewhere in Huelva province, another in Madrid and the seventh in Holland. Two of them have Moroccan nationality.
Four of the hostages were found under guard in two vehicles parked near the Marina Ocio shopping centre in Lepe following a report to Lepe local police from the son of one of those who were being held. He said his parent was being held by kidnappers in the area after being missing from home for two days.
The kidnappers were nearby and were arrested as they tried to escape.
The remaining three hostages were found near a chalet in Cartaya, four kilometres outside Lepe, after managing to escape when the kidnappers left. All seven were previously held captive in the property.
There was no indication in the report if the kidnappers had made any demands for a ransom.

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Marcos J.R.C Kidnapper

A temporary construction worker has been arrested in Telde in connection with the attempted kidnap of the ten year old child, Sandra Domínguez, in the La Garita area of the town on January 4.
The 37 year old suspect who has been named only as Marcos J.R.C., is said to have a police record and was seen in a white van in the area. The victim has recognised him in a photo.
Marcos now goes before the Instruction judge 2 in Telde, Óscar Rey, accused of attempted kidnapping. Police say they are now searching for a possible accomplice in the case.

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Dean Fitzpatrick brother of Amy Fitzpatrick interviewed

Dean Fitzpatrick, the brother of 15 year old Amy who has been missing from her home in Mijas since the evening of New Year’s Day, was called to the local Civil Guard barracks on Monday, where he was interviewed for around an hour for any information which could help detectives locate his sister. It’s now been two weeks since she was last seen.

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Local Police demonstrate to reinstate Francisco Javier Martín

Local Police demonstrate to reinstate Inspector Francisco Javier Martín, who is accused of hiding and then removing three statement complaints from the police station on the same day that the premises were searched, March 30 2006, as part of the Malaya case. Since the time of the alleged offence, the policeman has been promoted to control traffic, plain-clothed officers and the police training school.

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Amy Fitzpatrick:a stranger driving a white van had been spotted targeting children in the area

Amy Fitzpatrick, 15, has not been seen since the evening of New Year’s Day, when she left the friend’s home on the Riviera del Sol complex. It is understood that the missing teenager does not have her mobile phone or passport with her.

Officers from the Spanish Civil Guard searched waste ground yesterday in the tourist resort of Riviera del Sol, near Fuengirola, as part of their hunt for the Irish teenager. The land is close to the route that Amy would have taken on her ten-minute walk back to the home she shares with her mother, brother and stepfather.
She spent New Year’s Eve at her friend’s house, babysitting for the girl’s younger brother, and stayed the night before the pair headed to a local shopping centre on January 1. Amy then returned to the friend’s house before heading home at about 10pm.
Her mother, Audrey, 39, said last night that she had not heard anything from her daughter since a telephone call early on the day she vanished.
“The last time we spoke was on New Year’s Day morning when she rang to wish me happy new year.”
Mrs Fitzpatrick, from Dublin, said that she was starting to fear the worst. “I’ve racked my brains for a reason as to why Amy might want to go off on her own and I can’t think of one. She’s never done anything like this before. We’ve traced the route we think she would have taken but found no clues as to what might have happened to her. It’s a route she knows well and involves a walk of about two minutes down a dirt track.
“All I want is for Amy to pick up a phone and ring me or a friend and say she’s OK but at the back of my mind is that horrible fear that something’s happened to her and she can’t.”
The disappearance has shocked Riviera del Sol’s expatriate community. Police have spoken to the couple that Amy had been babysitting for on New Year’s Eve, an English woman and her Spanish husband. They have also questioned the teenager’s school friends, including a dozen British expatriate families who live in the area.
Mrs Fitzpatrick was preparing last night to distribute hundreds of appeal posters showing her daughter’s face. The teenager’s brother, Dean, 17, had spent the day taking police officers to see friends in the hope that someone had heard from her.
Ritchie Harris, a family friend, said: “Amy is a very pretty girl and although she’s mature for her age and likes to mix with an older crowd, she’s only 15 and still very much of a youngster.” Mr Harris, originally from London, said that he had been helping in the search for Amy, and had spent Thursday night scouring her e-mails and speaking to her friends via the online MSN Messenger service for clues as to her whereabouts.
A police helicopter spent part of yesterday flying over waste ground close to Amy’s home. The land, sandwiched between a motorway running along the Costa del Sol and houses leading down to the Mediterranean, is popular with dog walkers. Amy, who has dark, shoulder-length hair, was wearing a black jacket, dark tracksuit bottoms, a black Diesel T-shirt and black furry boots when she was last seen.
She moved to the Costa del Sol with her mother 3½ years ago. Her step-father, Dave McMahon, is an estate agent in the Spanish resort. It is understood that her natural father lives in the Irish Republic.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Málaga was unable to comment on local reports that a stranger driving a white van had been spotted targeting children in the area.

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Costa home invaders the new threat to expat security

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.

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secret mass graves

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.

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Puente Romano and the Marbella Club

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.

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30.000 dwellings

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.

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paid money to Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía

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

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

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.

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The brains of the operation Malaya, Juan Antonio Roca

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.

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

"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."

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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

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.

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

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.

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Judah Binstock has returned to Marbella.

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.

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Judah Binstock connection to corruption in Marbella

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.

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MARBELLA TOWN HALL

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.

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Fernando del Valle

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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future of houses already built on land too near the beaches

future of houses already built on land too near the beaches, as has happened, for example, in El Palo, Pedregalejo and La Araña. What is going to happen to these houses?

The document proposes that these areas be planned all over again, and this will be the opportunity to do it in a rational way, taking the environment into account much more than before.

Can the local inhabitants of these areas be sure their houses will not be knocked down?

Owners of houses built on public land need not worry; we are working to find a reasonable solution for all concerned.

We have much the same situation in areas like Banana Beach in Marbella, the El Castillo area in Manilva, a building belonging to the Unicaja banking group in Arroyo de la Miel and the La Rada Hotel in Estepona. What’s going to happen in these cases?

First let me say that all cases have to be looked into one by one, and in many cases we are already working on a solution. There are also cases in which we are considering moving the buildings in question, because they have been badly located in the first place. They do nothing for the surrounding areas they are in, and given the possible effects of climate change in the future, they will become a risk. We should not close our eyes, therefore, to any possibility. We must search for urban planning solutions in areas we have no direct control over, and these solutions must respect the rights of property owners, ensuring that they will not lose their properties and have them in less vulnerable areas.

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several concrete blocks chained to his feet.

The body of a 34 year old man, who was reported missing ten days ago, was found last Sunday lunchtime by a fisherman at the bottom of the River Júcar with several concrete blocks chained to his feet.

The victim, who was from Cullera, but worked in a meat processing factory in Torrent, was found in an inaccessible spot located roughly halfway between Cullera and Sueca, known locally as 'L'Astut'.

Attempts to contact the victim by mobile phone immediately following his disappearance were unsuccessful, and his car was subsequently found parked in the nearby town of Sollana.

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30,000 illegally constructed homes in Marbella

The ex Prime Minister, José María Aznar, is now known to have purchased an attic in an illegally built urbanisation in Marbella in 2005. The building, Hoyo 15 in Guadalmina Baja, goes against the 1986 Urban Plan, and is part of an estimated 30,000 illegally constructed homes in Marbella.

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Julián Muñoz deposited a €50,000 euros bail payment

Julián Muñoz deposited a €50,000 euros bail payment pertaining to charges arising from a money-laundering investigation unrelated to the 'Malaya' investigation into property development-related corruption, at Marbella court this morning.

On the 21st September, Muñoz's lawyers posted a first bail payment of €50,000 euros pertaining to the 'Malaya' case itself, but their client will remain behind bars for the forseeable future as Muñoz is currently serving two consecutive 12 month sentences having already been convicted as part of the 'Proinsa' and 'Moansa' urban fraud and corruption investigations.

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