We are now in the early days of a massive corruption trial, here in Spain - the biggest this country (and probably just about any other country) has ever seen. There are 95 people in the dock, after it was discovered that promoters in the city of Marbella, the south coast Spanish resort, had been paying backhanders to municipal employees between 2002 and 2006, in exchange for permission to build on protected land. (Have we heard this before, somewhere?) The wide array of allegations to be dealt with includes: property development offences, manipulation of public tenders, money-laundering, fraud, embezzlement and the acceptance of bribes. The wide assortment of defendants on public display inlcudes lawyers, town planning officers, councillors various and every sort of mayor you can think of – present mayors, past mayors, deputy mayors – but mainly very rich mayors.
The money thought to have been 'laundered' has been calculated at around 670 million euros, most of which involves payments received in exchange for 'favours' relating to building development in the city. In addition to crimes related to property development on the Costa del Sol, and in Marbella, in particular, it is believed that the case also involves homes built in Los Alcázares, Murcia. (We're getting warmer).
The mega-corruption scandal threatens to bring the country into international disrepute. However, those in public office (especially in the Valencian region) have shown themselves to be quite adept at defending their disregard for human rights at international level, so the outcome is not as 'cut and dried' as one might assume. It is thought that the complex case will take around two years to try, and may involve large quantities of witnesses. These are speculations, of course. The only thing that can be said with any certainty is that it will involve even larger quantities of the tax-payer's money. And what of the outcome? Will those found guilty be forced to pay up in an attempt to compensate those individuals who have been defrauded of millions and condemned to years of anxiety and stress? Yeah, I think so, too.
Linda Palfreeman
