Marbella Scandal - 18 Arrests

The Marbella scandal has resulted in over 18 arrests, over six imprisonments including the town Mayor, Vice Mayor and associates along with numerous extravagate artifacts confiscated for the upcoming trial which includes horses, a helicopter and five kilos of jewelry. The mayor of Marbella and 18 close associates were arrested and accused of bribary, corruption and misuse of public funds on March 29th last.
The scandal caught international headlines, severely damaged the PP party and put another black cloud over the already dubbed, Costa del Crime. Those arrested were accused of receiving valuable gifts of money, jewellery, luxury cars and art works in exchange for issuing building licenses and rezoning areas that had been previously designated for gardens, parks and public use.
The sensational charges and arrests still continue and last week the chief of the local police, Rafael del Pozo, was charged following a five-hour interview with a judge. The charges were not clear, but after dealing with the formalities in respect of the €20,000 euro bail for his client, Pozo’s lawyer claimed that there were no accusations of bibery nor misappropriation of public funds. The same day saw before the court, Torremolinos businessman Rafael Llopis was alleged to have paid money to obtain advertising contracts. He was detained without bail bringing the total number in custody to 12. The house of the man alleged to be at the centre of the Marbella corruption, Juan Antonio Roca, has been shown in a video released by the Ministry of the Interior shot inside one of his properties.
It has emerged that the now ex-Marbella’s head of Planning’s house had several animal heads hanging as hunting trophies and stuffed examples of exotic animals he has killed –including a giraffe. A Miró original painting hangs in one of the bathrooms. Juan Antonio Roca is the main person accused of money laundering in a huge operation that covered a lot of Andalucia as well as Madrid. Police also revealed that they had further evidence as a result of the wiretaps they had carried out during the investigation. Meanwhile Marbella’s Deputy Mayor, Isabel García Marcos has presented an appeal against her remand without bail.
She claimed the judge was acting beyond his jurisdiction in the case. Previously, Judge Torres who smashed a huge money laundering racket last year, has jailed six people that he found were involved in the scandal: former mayoress Marisol Yague; deputy mayoress Isabel Garcia Marcos; the head of the Urbanisation department and the alleged head of the corruption ring, Juan Antonio Roca; the Marbella councillor for Traffic and Transport Victoriano Rodriguez; businessmen Ismael Perez and Oscar Benavente and Montserrat Corulla. Police stated that a large part of the cash confiscated was found in a bag that the deputy mayoress of Marbella Isabel Garcia Marcos kept in her home.
As the first part of the operation ended, police found €830,000 in cash, confiscated 275 works of art, 103 horses valued at more than three million Euros, 14 cars, 24 historical weapons, five kilos of jewelry and a helicopter in addition to the five vanloads of documents. Bank accounts containing €2,400 million were also confiscated in the initial raids. In the intial raid, police in Murcia detained one person and collected evidence from various houses, one of which was set inside an estate of 100 hectares that has an orange grove, heliport and three industrial warehouses.
Furthermore, there was a small palace of a house where police discovered a gold mine of objects whose value is difficult to calculate according to media reports. These included old cameras, a large number of jewels, a golden chalice, a highly valued old sextant, and three old Mercedes cars in perfect working order as well as a perfectly working ancient bus. In another development, it has been revealed that the wife of Marbella police superintendent Rafael del Pozo worked for a company affiliated with the town hall and made €4,000 a month. On the political front Manuel Chaves, the regional president of Andalucía, was prepared to dissolve Marbella town council and appoint an administrator in light of the arrests and accusations. However, apparently, he was not prepared to call elections, as the latest polls showed that the Partido Popular would win hands down, and this is something that his party wants to avoid at any cost.
The PP, however, believes that even more unease amongst the people of Marbella would be if an administrator is appointed until the next elections in 2007, and this view is born out by Pio Garcia-Escudero, the PP spokesman in the Senate in Madrid, as it is the Senate that will have the task of legally dismissing the council. Mr. Garcia-Escudero expressed the belief that elections could take place in Marbella on May 27. The Marbella case has landed like a hot potato in the lap of the Andalucian president Manuel Chaves, who has been accused of knowing that a huge mafia-like network of corruption was operating in the region, yet did nothing about it.

The Oracle, Ayamonte
found for you by HOMES & FINCAS, Ayamonte, Costa de la Luz, Spain

One third of Brits seek property abroad

The Brits' love of property and of property investment is legendary and it appears to be a passion that is growing stronger.Partly thanks to the number of property investment programmes on television, more and more couples are deciding to retire abroad, while thousands of others decide to invest in foreign property to make money through a mixture of capital growth and rental income.
According to a new survey, almost a third of Britons say they are interested in buying property abroad or indeed moving abroad, with Spain continuing to lead the way in Europe.Based on research from Banco Halifax Hispania, the Spanish arm of Halifax, America and Australia are the favourite choices for potential property buyers, however, which is perhaps tied to family issues.
Nonetheless, in third place on the overall list, Spain is clearly still exceptionally popular with property seekers, helped by the enviable climate and a track record for strong house price inflation.With cheap flights running regularly between the UK and a number of Spanish airports, transportation is also much easier for those buying a property in Spain, whereas lengthy and expensive flights to America and Australia make it an awkward choice for people who would like to make trips back to see family and friends.
Despite rapid growth in the Spanish property market for a number of years, British investors still find they can get hold of stunning villas for extremely competitive prices, while the quality of life in Spain attracts a huge number of holiday home purchasers every year.Rental yields in the likes of Murcia are also generally high, meaning investors are often tempted to buy a property there with the exclusive aim of renting it out for a number of years before potentially moving down to live.
While buying a foreign property is becoming much easier thanks to the guidance of experienced experts, Banco Halifax Hispania has stressed there are certain things that everybody much consider before making the decision.Arranging a bank account is one such consideration, while deciding what will be done with any property in the UK is clearly another. It is also worth considering any inheritance tax rules that could be different from the UK, while registering residency status with both the Inland Revenue in the UK and the authorities abroad is also important.
Opportunities for foreign investment are now greater than ever and as demonstrated in this new research, it is also clear that Spanish property is as popular as ever.

Story from Assetz news

Discovered for you by HOMES & FINCAS, Ayamonte, Costa de la Luz, Spain

France and Spain top with overseas property buyers

France and Spain remain the most popular choice for overseas property buyers, according to a new survey. This is because the majority of British overseas property buyers are 'traditionalists' who see their overseas purchase either as a holiday home or somewhere to retire to.
Foreign currency specialist HIFX reports that France and Spain made up almost half (43 per cent) of all its currency transactions for buying property abroad in March. Australia was in third place with 11 per cent of transactions, followed by Bulgaria (ten per cent), USA (four per cent), Canada (two per cent) and South Africa (one per cent).
The majority of Brits are looking for an overseas property that can be used for regular holidays, is easily rentable, with cheap flights, and offers a quick escape to the sun. Those considering retiring abroad are also looking for a well established expat community to help them feel at home. But HIFX has identified a more adventurous group of Brits, the adventurers, who are buying overseas property in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. This group does not mind travelling long distances in search of a more exotic location than the traditionalists, and often consider emigrating to their holiday home at some point. For this reason they do not want the hassle of a language barrier and are seeking somewhere that is culturally similar to that of the UK.
A further group of Brits, hot spot investors, are buying overseas property primarily for financial gain. They are looking to places like Bulgaria and Dubai, which could offer excellent investment returns because they are up and coming holiday destinations and have rising house prices.
HIFX marketing director Mark Bodega said: "People buy abroad for many different reasons but they tend to fall into three main categories. "For some it's an emotional decision based on a lifelong dream, for others it's an exciting step into the unknown and for some it's simply a financial investment.

Story from about property

found for you by HOMES & FINCAS, Ayamonte, Costa de la Luz, Spain