home of Antonio Banderas

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

Insider View translated from the Spanish

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Property Crash

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.

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

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.''

Allan James Foster, 31

POLICE are appealing to expats and holidaymakers in Spain to help trace a man wanted for murder. Originally from South Shields, Allan James Foster, 31, is known to have spent time in Majorca and the Canary Islands. It is believed he may now be living somewhere on the Costas. Foster, who sometimes uses the name Sean Wilkinson, is 5’8” tall and has a mole on the left side of his face.

26-year-old British dealer was recently arrested near Marbella with false passports

39 British-organised crime syndicates on the Costa del Sol have been identified as being involved in major drugs supply. A 26-year-old British dealer was recently arrested near Marbella with false passports, eight mobile phones and a British-registered Mitsubishi 4x4.

links between Ibiza and the Costa del Sol

Soca officers confirmed that they have intensified their scrutiny of the links between Ibiza and the Costa del Sol, from where some of Britain's most wanted drug barons run their empires. Co-operation with Spain's Special Central Unit for Locating Fugitives (UCLF) has recently been stepped up. At least six suspected major British criminals have been arrested in the province of Malaga, including Brian Wright, who is alleged to have smuggled £300m of cocaine into Britain.
Among those understood to be wanted in connection with San Antonio's drug supply is Mickey Green, 62,

Answer Phone in English

This service is not available in all areas and cannot be used on all telephones to check if you can use this service in your area and with your phone you must first activate the service. Pick up your receiver and press * 10 # replace your receiver. Your answering

machine (if available) should now be activated. To check this pick up your receiver and wait about 5-10 seconds. If the service has been activated you should hear a lady speaking (in Spanish of course) this means that the service is available to you if not ring telefonica on 1004.

TO CHANGE THE LANGUAGE

Pick up the receiver and wait 5-10seconds until the lady stops speaking………………………………………….press the number 1 on your phone

When she stops speaking again ………………….press 4

When she stops speaking again…………………..press 0000

(See * below)
When she stops speaking again ………………….press 1

When she stops speaking again ………………….press

1 for English 2 for French 3 for German

To confirm the chosen language press. ……………Press 1 when she stops speaking

Replace receiver when she finishes talking. To test that you have done all correct just pick up your receiver and wait 5-10 seconds for her to start talking hopefully in chosen language

To de-activate the service pick up the receiver and press #10# to reactivate *10# you can do this as often as you wish.

* Your personal code - this has been installed as 0000 but you can if you wish change this

To pick up messages just lift the receiver and wait for 5-10secs if there are no messages you will be told there are no messages. To hear a message again press 1 press 2 to save the message or 3 to erase the massage. Any problems call telafonica on 1004(free phone) for help and advice.

Telefonica´s free phone number 1004 (English speakers are available)

mobile phones while driving

16 policemen in Marbella and San Pedro Alcantara will be on the look out for people who use their mobile phones while driving. This forms part of a national campaign which aims at reducing the number of accidents caused by distracted drivers. Talking while driving carries a fine of 150 euros and the loss of three points.

combat violence in the classroom

the National Police and the Guardia Civil will be making their presence felt in schools around Malaga province in an effort to combat violence in the classroom. They plan to give a series of talks to get the message across that bullying fellow students and attacking teachers will be punished, even though perpetrators are under age. In a recent case, a judge split up a group of three bullies, sending them to different schools in Malaga city. The security forces will also warn students of the dangers posed by the Internet, and be on the look out for drug dealers inside and outside the schools.

garbage bags full of what she liked most: money

the former wife of ex-mayor Julian Muñoz, has now been jailed. Insiders have stated that ever since Jesus Gil y Gil became mayor of the town, Miss Zaldivar regularly used to receive garbage bags full of what she liked most: money – to the tune of somewhere in the region of seven hundred million Pesetas, or about £3.5 million. As she used to brag about how much these garbage bags were giving her, she has now been placed in jail by Judge Miguel Angel Torres, who is now planning to hear her testimony before taking any further action. All in all, since last March when the investigation first started, some seventy people have been placed in jail as a result of Judge Torres’ investigations. Also arrested under orders from Judge Torres yesterday was Jose Maria Gonzalez de Caldas, the director of the Xativa bullring.

Paul Durant had initially told an English tabloid newspaper that he had eaten his victim after hacking up her corpse.

A British citizen accused of killing and quartering his girlfriend three years ago in Calpe, Alicante, admitted yesterday in court that he had murdered her but said he did not get rid of the body.

Paul Durant had initially told an English tabloid newspaper that he had eaten his victim after hacking up her corpse.

This is the first time since 1983 that a person has been put on trial for murder without a corpse being found.

Paul D. told the judge in Alicante that in February 2004 he killed Karen Durell, a 41-year-old British mother of two who had moved to the resort of Calpe a few months earlier. But he said that after the murder, he left the body "in its place."


The accused, who had fled Britain after being sentenced to a 20-year prison term for theft, admitted that he tried to withdraw money with the victim's credit card, and that he entered a home belonging to one of her friends.

Janette May Grocutt, was stabbed to death last Friday by a gang of burglars

A 74 year old British woman, identified by the Foreign Office as Janette May Grocutt, was stabbed to death last Friday by a gang of burglars during a break-in at the home she shared with her bed-ridden husband, Douglas, who was not attacked, but who is now being treated in hospital for stress.

The results of the autopsy will confirm suspicions that Mrs Grocutt was killed when she bravely tried to fight off the gang.

It seems that the couple moved to Spain from Cornwall around six years ago, and ran a campsite.

Mrs Grucott's body was found by a close friend of the family last Friday evening at the couple's home, which is located on a small independent plot surrounded by a metal fence in the village of Paredón, close to the town of Pinoso (pop. approx. 7,350), which, in turn, is located in the Medio Vinalopó borough of Alicante province.

No arrests have yet been made, but police believe that the attack may have been perpetrated by a gang blamed for a number of similar recent attacks in the area, who appear to be targeting expat residents.

Puente Romano and the Marbella Club

The Marbella judge responsible for the Hidalgo money laundering case, Manuel Martín Hernández-Carrillo, has interviewed another five suspects, among them two directors of Marbella’s main hotel group. They are all accused of money laundering and tax fraud, pointed out court sources at the end of last week.
Among the five who appeared before the judge last week were the finance director of the group that owns both the Puente Romano and the Marbella Club, the manager of one of these two hotels, a tax consultant connected with the group and a former public notary, explained the same sources. The fifth new Hidalgo suspect is the lawyer Juan Germán Hoffmann, who also faces charges in the Malaya corruption case. Hoffmann, the son of the founder of the Marbella German school of the same name, apparently has links with some of the foreign connections that allegedly laundered money through the Cruz Conde law firm, at the centre of the Hidalgo investigation.

Europe's wunderkind

In the late 1980s, Spain had become Europe's wunderkind: its foreign investment ballooned, its 4% cumulative annual growth was the Continent's highest and, with the help of European Community subsidies, it built $30 billion worth of highways and other public works. No longer did Spaniards have to emigrate north for jobs: their income rose to 79% of the E.C. median. Culturally, Spain became fashionable: the campy fantasies of filmmaker Pedro Almodovar; the sunswept abstractions of painter Miguel Barcelo; the postmodern extravaganzas of architect Ricardo Bofill; the prankish sexiness of fashion designer Sybilla. Madrid promoted itself as the eye of a creative tornado known as la movida, whirling all night long. Novelist Camilo Jose Cela won the 1989 Nobel Prize for Literature. "In the 1960s, we felt like second-class Europeans," says Juan Sanchez-Cuenca, director of the U.S.-affiliated advertising firm Bozell Espana. "In the 1980s we felt proud to be Spanish."