Banged-up: marbella officials jailed after property scandal

Photo: TripAdvisor

Jail sentences and Fines were handed down by the court to some 50 city officials and business executives over a vast system of property-related corruption in the popular Southern beach resort of Marbella, reports International Estate Agent Today.

These included former city planning chief Juan Antonio Roca, who was jailed for 11 years and fined €240m euros (£204m) for pocketing huge sums.

Two of the coastal city's former mayors were also handed jail terms over the scams, which came to light in 2006. Marbella's local government was forced to replace large numbers of personnel after the case was exposed.

Marisol Yague and Julian Munoz received sentences of six and two years, respectively.

The verdict read out in court in the province of Malaga detailed a corruption ring involving building permits being handed out to a succession of officials in return for cash payments, contributing to the significant oversupply of homes that we see in parts of Marbella today.

A total of 85 men and women were accused in what is thought to be the biggest-ever case of local political corruption in Spanish history.