News
Balcón fire
Around 20 people were evacuated from
apartments on the Balcón de Europa
last month after fire broke out. A second
floor property owned by architect and
former Partido Popular councillor
Bernard Pozuelo was seriously damaged
in the incident. He said he had been
enjoying a coffee in a nearby café when
he was told of the blaze which is
thought to have been caused by an
electrical short circuit.
Road death
A 50-year-old motorcyclist from Nerja
died last month after his high-powered
Kawaski left the road and hit the curb,
throwing him to the ground where he
suffered severe head injuries. The
accident happened on the east-bound
N340 at the roundabout leading to the
Fuente del Báden area on March 18. The
dead man is reported to have been
married with two young children and
was well-known in the hospitality
sector.
Gym investigation
A man whose body was found in a
Vélez-Málaga gymnasium last month is
thought to have been attempting a
robbery. The 50-year-old, who had a
long criminal record, is thought to have
fallen ten metres after breaking in
through a skylight and then stepping
onto a false ceiling. His body was found
by the gym’s owner and an investigation
was opened by National Police.
Police threatened
A local man was detained in Torrox
during the first week of restrictions on
movement imposed by the government.
The 42-year-old was arrested after
insulting and threatening police officers
who ordered him to return to his home.
He was reported by neighbours for
disturbing the peace and now faces a
fine of up to €3,000 for resisting arrest
and failing to comply with the state of
emergency restrictions.
Shot fired
A shot was fired into the air by police
in Málaga’s La Trinidad district as
officers tried to prevent three suspects
from escaping. They had leapt from a
vehicle which crashed into a shop
window in calle Mármoles during what
investigators believe was an illegal
road race with another car. Police
from the neighbouring police station
were quickly on the scene but it is
unclear whether any detentions were
made.
Felipe renounces
his inheritance
King Felipe IV has renounced the
inheritance of his father, King Juan
Carlos, who abdicated in favour of his
son in 2014, and has stripped the
retired monarch of his annual
retirement allowance. The moves
follow reports that King Juan Carlos,
who reigned for 39 years and is now
82, had set up an offshore fund in 2008
which was likely to generate millions
for his son.
The story broke in the UK’s Telegraph
newspaper on March 14 and claimed
that King Felipe was named as a
beneficiary of an offshore fund holding
€65 million. The cash was said to have
been a “donation” from “the King of
Saudi Arabia” while Juan Carlos was
still on the throne.
The report added that the offshore
account, named as the Lucum
Foundation, was established in Panama
City and was tied to a private bank in
Geneva. Another offshore account
alleged to be linked to Juan Carlos,
Fondation Zagatka, is already under
investigation by prosecutors in
Switzerland who think it may be linked
to “kickback” payments after the
former monarch helped to broker
business deals with Saudi Arabia while
he was in power. These are believed to
be connected to the contract awarded
to a Spanish consortium to construct
the high-speed rail line between Mecca
and Medina which opened in 2018.
The day after the Telegraph report
appeared, March 15, the Royal
household in Madrid issued a
statement noting that King Felipe
became aware of claims about the
Lucum Foundation last year and had
formally renounced any benefit in a
sworn statement to a public notary.
The statement also included
confirmation from Juan Carlos that he
had not told his son that he was named
as a beneficiary. King Felipe also
denied all knowledge of being a
beneficiary of the Fondation Zagatka.
The reports surfaced as Juan Carlos was
being criticised for his lavish lifestyle
and observers say King Felipe’s
response indicates that he is trying to
distance himself from his father’s
affairs. The palace has also confirmed
that Juan Carlos, who retired from
public life last year, will no longer
receive an annual grant of €194,000.
Assassin suspects detained
Six men have been arrested in a joint
operation by Spanish and Dutch police
which opened after an assassination in
Marbella last year. Four of them were
detained close to the Spanish border
last month when they were allegedly
on their way to carry out another
killing. The Moroccan-born
businessman Abdelhadi Yaqout was
shot dead on January 21, 2019, as he
arrived at his villa in San Pedro at the
wheel of his Bentley. He was
reportedly hit 12 times while he was
trapped inside the car by two hooded
gunmen. Yaqout owned several bars
and nightclubs in Puerto Banus and
had an interest in Linekers, the bar
established by Wayne Lineker, brother
of England footballer Gary Lineker. He
was also reportedly involved in
international drugs trafficking.
The investigation into his assassination
led officers to identify the six
14
individuals now in detention who were
based mainly in the Netherlands where
they were working as hired assassins
selling their services to criminal gangs.
Once it was suspected that they were
planning another hit in Spain, their
movements were monitored as they
left the Netherlands by road. The four
occupants of their vehicle were
detained last month as they crossed the
Spanish border and a semi-automatic
pistol with a silencer was found hidden
in the car. At the same time, the other
two suspects were detained in the
Netherlands.
Police say the gang was one of the most
active in Europe with ten murders
presently attributed to them. Three of
the detainees already have criminal
records for serious offences, and all six
now face charges of murder, possessing
illegal weapons and membership of a
criminal organisation.