Post by Admin on Jan 20, 2016 11:27:30 GMT -4
By Guy Hedgecoe, in Madrid4:19PM GMT Jan 2016
The former mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñóz, has admitted his role in a property fraud case involving a villa that used to belong to Sir Sean Connery and which has seen his wife ordered to face trial.
Mr Muñoz told a court in Málaga on Monday that he had been involved in irregularities related to the Costa del Sol property, which was sold by developers for an enormous profit after being converted into apartments.
Muñóz, who is already serving a prison sentence for fraud, also declared himself guilty of tax fraud.
Sir Sean has denied any links to corrupt town hall officials in Marbella who are now serving prison sentences and any involvement with firms linked to the alleged multi-million-pound fraud relating to Sir Sean’s former home.
Investigators believe Sir Sean’s second wife, Micheline Roquebrune, planned with local developers and lawyers the conversion of the property and made around £5 million more than she declared to the tax authority from its sale.
In November, the case, known as “Goldfinger”, after the Bond film in which Sir Sean starred, saw Ms Roquebrune ordered to stand trial.
Sir Sean, 85, and Ms Roquebrune bought the luxury villa, Casa Malibu, near Puerto Banus, after getting married in 1975 and it was well placed for the Scottish actor to indulge his love of golf.
They sold it in 1999 for £5.5 million, and it was then converted into 72 flats and sold for an estimated £45 million, despite the fact that planning regulations only allowed for a maximum of five flats to be built on it.
Prosecutors believe Ms Roquebrune and others colluded in faking legal transactions, in order to hide profits of its sale from the tax authority.
Ms Roquebrune, who is French-Moroccan, faces a possible 30-month prison sentence and £16 million fine if found guilty. She has described the charges as “nonsense”.
In admitting his guilt on Monday, Mr Muñóz, whose former girlfriend, the singer Isabel Pantoja, is serving a jail term for money laundering, told the court: “Not only do I accept [the facts of the case], but I regret the acts committed with regard to myself.”
A total of 17 others are facing charges in this case, including six former local politicians. Ms Roquebrune is facing a separate trial.
Sir Sean was also investigated but was told in 2014 that he would not face trial. However, the investigating judge criticised the former 007 actor for being “obstructive and ignorant” after allegedly responding slowly to requests for information about the case.
