Voted BEST
expat paper in Spain
Mijas Costa See page xx 8
Expats can stay!
FREE
Vol. 11 Issue 277 www.theolivepress.es October 25th - November 7th 2017
MAFIA Russians are the new costa crime kings
THUMBS UP But do you know what it means in Spain?
679702_DFS_SPANISH_BOX_AD_40x40_MIJAS_COSTA.indd 23/02/2017 11:31 1
SEE MORE P 7
SPAIN’s foreign minister Alfonso Dastis has said that expats will be allowed to stay in Spain if no deal is reached between Britain and the EU. He said he would ensure that the lives of ordinary Britons in Spain are ‘not disrupted’ in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
Rejects Dastis told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “I do hope that there will be a deal. If there is no deal we will make sure that the lives of ordinary people who are in Spain, the UK people, is not disrupted. “Over 17 million Brits come to Spain every year and many of them live here or retire here and we want to keep it that way as much as possible.” According to the Office of National Statistics Spain hosts the largest number of British citizens living inside the EU. Meanwhile, Sadiq Khan has suggested holding a second Brexit referendum if Parliament rejects Theresa May’s deal with the EU. Khan said: “If Parliament decides to accept the deal that our Government makes then we are leaving the European Union. “If Parliament rejects the deal made by our Government then that opens up a whole host of questions.” Brexit negotiations have so far stymied progress to trade talks, despite Angela Merkel setting out a potential December start date.
SEE MORE P 14
EXCLUSIVE By Jed Neill
A PENSIONER is taking legal advice after being fined for using a ‘bogus’ international driving licence bought from a wellknown expat businessman. American Andrea Barnett, 60, is demanding a refund from David ‘the Dogman’ Klein, after he sold her the ‘suspiciouslooking’ document for €300. The Marbella-based motherof-two, from Illinois, is furious after police told her the licence wasn’t legal, and fined her €500. “They were completely certain that it was not real,” she told the Olive Press. “They told me it was dodgy, fake and I needed
‘DOGMAN’: Klein to pay the fine or I would go to jail. “They weren’t interested who had sold it to me. They just wanted my money.”
But expat Barnett, who by her own admittance was a little naive, has decided that enough is enough and has now called in two lawyers to investigate the case. “I want the police to change their attitude and to investigate those that sell these licences. I don’t want it to happen to anyone else,” she said. “If I had been told clearly that I could not just use this licence on its own I would never have paid so much.” As well as probe the legality of the licences, she hopes to get a full refund from Klein, who
The court that’s now a hotel The Olive Press judges Malaga’s most exclusive place to stay SEE PAGE 32
952 887 125
fuengirola@ibexinsure.com
50%
SALE
For all your insurance needs! Estepona
952 581 561
NO YELLOW Gifting yellow is a no-go in Spain SEE MORE P 22
ANGRY: With ID
Women threatened with jail after buying ‘fake driving licence’ from notorious expat
www.oaklandfurniturespain.com
Fuengirola
info@simply-shuttles.com Tel: 951 279 117 www.simply-shuttles.com
Fakin’ it
Opinion Page 6
estepona@ibexinsure.com
Book with the coast’s most trusted transfer company
SHOWROOM: Calle St Maria, 29670, San Pedro de Alcantara, Marbella Malaga (next to Maxi Dia Supermarket and above GM Cash & Carry) Tel: 951 979 221 | sales@oaklandfurniturespain.com
oN all varifocal lENSES See our ad inside for details.
• Car • Home • Pet • Business • Health • Marine • Travel • Holiday home
www.ibexinsure.com OLIVE PRESS – 70mm x 40mm FRONT COVER 25 October
writes a pet advice column in a local newspaper and has a radio show. “It never occurred to me that anyone here would sell me a fake driving license,” she said. “I contacted Klein after seeing an advert in a local paper and met him at a petrol station, near Benahavis and handed over €300 in cash after showing him my American passport and license. “He looked successful and wealthy. You tend to trust people like that.” Two weeks later Barnett, who has two daughters, received the licence (right), which looks unprofessional and badly printed. It has validated by the ‘O&E Auto Club Association’, an organisation that apparently does NOT exist. The language is strange and at the bottom it states: “We are a private organization not affiliated with the United Nations or any other quasi government organization.” The licence is fake, as police in Alicante confirmed after convicting a driver with a license from the SAME organisation in 2013. The vast majority of these li-
cences are made in Taiwan, the Olive Press has discovered. “It is a fantasy document,” stated a police spokesman, adding the man had bought it off the internet for just €100. The Olive Press investigated the same issue three years ago after Spanish motoring writer Brian Deller had his website mysteriously hacked. The site, www.spainvia.com which warned of the dangers of fake licences - was remarkably redirected to Klein’s then website for the Costa del Sol Action Group. Conveniently, all mentions of the licence issue were erased from the website. We reported that Klein had sold numerous permits – via classified adverts with his mobile phone number – for many years. When contacted by a prospective client as part of the investigation, Klein did indeed offer a ‘10-year licence’ for €300, but admitted it was ‘risky’. “I can get you an international licence that will last for 10 years, but it is a risk (to use it in Spain),” he told our journalist. Continues on Page 4
BLINDS & CURTAINS
tel: 688 267 101 www.artedellusso.es