Forty charged in Tráfico false documentation case

Two notaries, several 'gestorías' involved

(voxpopuli.com)

SEVILLE -- In a press release, the Guardia Civil's Tráfico unit has announced that they charged forty people on false public documentation issues. Among them are buyers and sellers of vehicles, notaries, gestores, and others. Investigations began ten months ago when the GC GIAT unit noticed certain irregularities in the information received in various documents presented online and at the Tráfico centres of the province. For example, vehicle transference documents carried the names of people who had died some six months before the documents' dates. Bills didn't look right either in many cases, as did documents regarding representation rights. Two notaries were charged because it was proved that people on the documents had never been seen by them, therefore the signatures had to be false. All those imputed in these cases have appeared before magistrates and we will be reporting on the outcome as soon as information is available.

Forty charged in Tráfico false documentation case

Two are notaries, several gestorías involved

Jefatura de Tráfico, Sevilla

SEVILLE -- In a press release, the Guardia Civil's Tráfico unit has charged forty people on false public documentation issues. Among them are buyers and sellers of vehicles, notaries, gestores, and others. Investigations began ten months ago when the GC GIAT unit noticed certain irregularities in the information received in various documents presented online and at the Tráfico centres of the province. For example, vehicle transference documents carried the names of people who had died some six months before the documents' dates. Bills didn't look right either in many cases, as did documents regarding representation rights. Two notaries were charged because it was proved that people on the documents had never been seen by them, therefore the signatures had to be false. All those imputed in these cases have appeared before magistrates and we will be reporting on the outcome as soon as information is available.

Interpol issues arrest orders for former Franco ministers

20 people wanted for crimes committed during dictatorship

Martín Villa in times gone by

MADRID -- Interpol has issued 'very urgent' preventative arrest petitions for 20 people wanted by Argentine judge María Servini de Cubría for crimes committed during the Franco regime. The request is for their extradition to Argentina, under the Universal Law principle of international legislation. The order includes two former ministers in the 1970s: José Utrera Molina and Rodolfo Martín Villa, who said on Wednesday that he wants to appear in court to defend himself. It also includes other ex-ministers as well as retired policemen, judges and others.

However, it is unlikely that they will actually be extradited, although the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court) can have them arrested until extradition proceedings are completed. More likely, though, is that they might be put under a lenient house arrest, for instance, with periodic face-showing visits to the court and their passports removed.

32 arrested in a new anti-corruption operation

Operación Madeja covers seven regional communities

One of many

SEVILLA -- Under the orders of Judge Mercedes Alaya, the Guardia Civil carried out a massive operation in seven different autonomous regions but centered in Seville. Called Operación Madeja or Operación Enredadera (approx. Operation Network or Vine, as in climbing plant, respectively -- the media has it under either name) resulted in 32 arrests on charges principally regarding bribes on construction projects. Among the arrested are politicians of PP, IU and Coalición Canaria), all level civil servants and employees of Councils, Diputaciones and the Ministry of Development, among others. Charges range from 'arranging' public contracts to crimes such as money laundering, false trading, tax evasion and belonging to a criminal organization.//Operation Network had been under way for 15 months and expanded to 13 provinces (Sevilla, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Zaragoza, Badajoz and Lanzarote).

Provincial crime headed by La Línea

(bibliotecadeinvestigaciones)

LA LÍNEA (Cádiz) -- The crime rate has risen in the border town from 2,341 reported incidents until September 2013 to 2,456 for the same period this year, a 4.9% increase. Algeciras has reduced its rate by 4.7%. Crime rates in the Campo de Gibraltar are varied. La Línea is prone to drug offences, for instance, while Castellar and Jimena account mostly for burglary. As to homicide, Algeciras registered none, compared to the two events in 2013. La Línea had one murder reported, the same as the same period last year. Statistics for the whole province of Cádiz were down by 2.1%, from 43,493 to 42,594, the principal events being 'robbery with violence and intimidation', which went down by 13.8%. In total, crime was reduced in the province by 6.9% according to Carmen Crespo, government delegate in Andalucía.

Former head of Spanish business confederation declared guilty of forcing bankruptcy

MADRID – The former president of the Spanish equivalent of the CBI, the CEOE (Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales), Gerardo Díaz Ferrán was last week found guilty of forcing the bankruptcy of Viajes Crisol, a subsidiary of Viajes Marsans, travel agencies which he owned among many other businesses and properties. The sentence includes his preclusion from administering the assets of any person or company, as well as representing another person in any capacity. He, and the estate of his former business partner Gonzalo Pascual, must cover the deficit that created the bankruptcy as well as all court costs. He is at present serving a jail term on other business deals at the Soto del Real prison in Madrid. (Editor’s note: an article on the downfall of Gerardo Díaz Ferrán is in preparation. An extraordinary tale about greed.) (Original Source: 20 minutos)

Ubrique killings: father detained

UBRIQUE (Cádiz) – The Guardia Civil this week arrested the father of the two young people he is alleged to have killed last Monday, and who had fled to the mountains around the village. Juan M.F., 53, was found after a large search had been in operation for three days, after the bodies of his two children, a woman of 20 and a 16 year old boy, were discovered at their home. According to Guardia sources, the man, who works in the local leatherworks industry for which Ubrique is famous,  had thrown the knife//with which he allegedly committed the crimes, into a local stream. Its discovery led to his hideout in the mountains where he was arrested.

Massive anti-organized crime clean up all over EU

Europol HQ, The Hague

THE HAGUE – The biggest raid against organized crime ever organized in Europe took place last week, resulting in the arrest of 1,027 people from all 28 EU countries, accused of a variety of crimes with two salient things, they were all accused of drug and/or people smuggling across EU borders. A very good result, too, was the liberation of 30 Romanian minors, victims of people smugglers and presumably to be sold into prostitution. In addition, confiscations totalled some 600kg of cocaine, 200kg of heroin, and 1.3kg of hashish. The 20,000 agents involved in Operation Archimedes, coordinated by Europol, had the

Tax agency brings down Spain’s largest illegal tobacco factory

VITORIA (Álava, Galicia) 09/09/14 -- A warehouse within an industrial estate in Vitoria was the headquarters of a gang that possessed everything needed to manufacture 1.5 million packs of cigarettes every week. Eighteen people were arrested,  in various places (Álava, Guipúzcoa, Navarre and Seville) used by the gang to store and/or to further process their illegal brands, most of Lithuanian or Latvian citizens, as well as Spanish nationals.  Operation Unicornio was four times larger than a similar operation uncovered last year in Guadalajara.
The agents confiscated the machinery used to make the cigarettes, as well as 240,000 packs of popular Spanish brands such as Austin, Goal ready for sale, plus over one million cigarettes not yet packaged, also of Austin and Goal, but also of American Legend, Ibiza and Palermo. These brands belong to the ‘cheaper’ end of the market. At Vitoria and the other warehouses, some 35 tons of tobacco leaf were ready for production.