Olive Press Newspaper - Issue 332 by Olive Press Newspaper Spain

OLIVE PRESS

The

ANDALUCIA

Mijas Costa FREE

Your expat

voice in Spain

Vol. 13 Issue 332 www.theolivepress.es December 4th - December 17th 2019

EXCLUSIVE: Proof that not every dog gets to have his day! Allegations of millioneuro tax avoidance scam go unanswered as infamous David ‘the Dogman’ Klein dies in Spain HE liked to boast of his huge charity prowess, his millions made and his ability to train any type of dog. But most people who knew him will remember David ‘the Dogman’ Klein as a trickster, who got away with far too many scams. The notorious Euro Weekly News columnist - who had his first brush with the law when he impersonated a police officer as a teenager - passed away last week allegedly embroiled in a €1 million-plus tax avoidance probe. As the Olive Press reported in 2016, Klein, who also had a show on Talk Radio Europe, had been flogging dodgy international driving licences for decades. But, even worse, it has since emerged he hadn’t been declaring the income to the Spanish tax authorities. Now, in a remarkable beyond-thegrave tale, we can reveal how his daughter and son-in-law reported

DOGGONE! EXCLUSIVE By Robert Firth

him to Spain’s Hacienda earlier this year, ‘to make him pay for his evil ways’. Based in the UK, they were horrified to discover that Klein had used a Spanish bank account opened in his daughter’s name to launder the money he made from the €450 Taiwan-made international driving permits. “We denounced him to both the bank and the taxman, but the case has been going very slowly,” son-inlaw Conway Standing, told the Olive Press, adding how frustrating it was that he had died before it was concluded. “I wanted to publish it all when he was alive. What’s the point now that he’s dead,” he said. The Derby-based businessman, 66, revealed earlier this year how the

DODGY: Klein’s license advert (above left) and the late trickster posing with his Rolls Royce bank had been using ‘delaying tac- nami of stress approaching Klein at tics’ but that both it and Klein were an alarming pace. facing ‘severe penalties’ for it. “Klein is a hypocrite and obviously He added that he had a ‘detailed and has scant regard for the law but that highly itemised account of Klein’s won’t stop him being apprehended.” undeclared offshore accounts and The astonishing claims were last his undeclared income’. night backed up by Costa del Sol He insisted: “Basically there is a tsu- motoring expert Brian Deller, who

Sailing into a new storm

IT will go down as the hottest decade on record. With temperatures soaring, both on land and sea, global warming has become a major issue for Europe. With temperatures about 1.1C above the average from 2010 to 2019, desertification has been spreading, in particular, through southern Spain. The provinces of Granada, Malaga and Almeria are at serious risk, while Murcia and large parts of Valencia are also in danger of semi-desert conditions. The ‘exceptional’ heat around the world was announced by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as climate activist Greta Thunberg (pictured) arrived in Portugal by boat en route for a key climate summit in Madrid this week. She is set to stay in the capital for two weeks, taking part in a huge demonstration this Friday. Temperature rises are close to the 1.5C warming that scientists insist will cause extreme weather and the loss of vital ecosystems in many places. Other consequences include severe droughts, heatwaves and floods across all continents. Overseas there have also been heatwaves. The findings by the WMO show that this year will be the second or third warmest since records began. The Arctic sea ice minimum in September was the third smallest on record. Opinion page 6

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IN PRINT: A 1954 Times article on Klein’s criminal activities was helping Standing in the tax probe. Deller, 82, who had previously been involved in a legal battle with Klein, after he hacked his website and redirected it to his own, said: “We are talking a million pounds at least. Money laundering. He really was a crook. “But like most conmen he was believable,” he added. He had taken Klein to task, via the Olive Press and his own website, describing the fake licences as ‘plasticated’ and containing ‘really bad Spanish.’ Law expert Antonio Flores, of Lawbird, in Marbella, described the international permits as ‘a scam, a sham.’ “Driving permits are issued by government offices,” he said. As for where the money went, according to Deller, it mostly went into his luxury lifestyle, that once included Rolls Royces and other luxury cars.

Enemies

He also had a stunning villa in upmarket Guadalmina, where he lived with his long-suffering wife Susan, a grand piano and his dog nicknamed ‘black boy’. The former dog trainer is no stranger to the criminal world, having first appeared in court at the age of 17 on charges of impersonating a police officer to con a female driver out of money. Reported in the Times, in 1954, he was convicted and fined 13 pounds. He went on to have various other brushes with the law in the UK, before moving to Spain in the 1990s. Gwilym Rhys-Jones, whose father Gwil also took Klein to court, said that the conman had made many enemies throughout the 90s. “He pissed off a lot of people,” he said. “He did lots of damage to a lot of people. I’d rather not say any more.” Klein died of pneumonia linked to cancer he had been suffering on November 29, in Malaga. Opinion page 6

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Bloody Mary POLICE are investigating a violent mass brawl in a Sevilla bar, which left the floor streaked in blood.

Gay basher A VIOLENT homophobe broke a man’s nose in a Sevilla club after calling him a ‘fag.’

Fabian’s hero A MAN who chased down a ‘murderer’ outside an Estepona bar has been revealed as the Gibraltar Chief Minister’s security guard. Full report at www.theolivepress.es

Stealing siblings FOUR brothers have confessed to working together to break into eight houses on the Costa Blanca.

Evening execution

December 4th - December 17th 2019 POINT BLANK: Hail of bullets leaves man dead in restaurant car park

E IV US CL IC EX P

NEWS IN BRIEF

CRIME

ANOTHER gangland slaying in year of violence as man shot through the eye AN evening execution left a man dead on the streets of Marbella last night. Police are seeking two men who shot the 50-something man at point blank range in scenic Cabopino Port. A total of five shots - one through the eye - left the man lying on his back in the restaurant Da Bruno’s car park. In the fourth apparent gangland murder on the Costa del Sol in just two months, the suspects sped off towards the nearby A7 toll road entrance in Calahonda at full speed, breaking through one of the barriers

By Laurence Dollimore and Robert Firth

heading towards Malaga. They were driving a blue Renault Megane rental car, which was later dumped and set alight in Mijas. British golf pro Ian Williams heard the shots from inside Da Bruno’s before going out to get his car, which was parked nearby. “I was one of the first people to see him lying on the floor. He was on his back, rigid, with a hole in what looked like an eye,” he told the Olive Press.

Festive shoot begins

The festive shooting season is heating up. But not of grouse or pheasants… an escalation of a scary drugs war that has been waging for the last few months. It comes after police revealed that two cars were involved in a shootout on the A7 motorway last week, just hours after the death of a British ‘businessman’ in Mijas. Peter Williamson, 39, from Salford, was shot dead by ‘Arabic-looking’ assailants as he parked his Audi after returning from the gym. Assassins fired seven bullets outside his villa in the Riviera del Sol, with local paper Diario Sur claiming it was ‘most likely’ drug related, as Williams had been arrested in March for shipping cannabis out of Malaga. The Olive Press reported exclusively last issue how a drugs war has broken out between rival Dutch gangs, who are bidding to take over the coast’s lucrative trade.One gang has partnered with infamous Irish gang, the Kinahans, who now mostly live in Dubai, while the other has links to Italian mafia.A total of 120 gangs are operating on the coast, according to a recent report, with Columbian and British gangs muscling in for control.

“A police car had just arrived and there was nobody inspecting the scene. There seemed to be no sense of urgency.” He continued: “Soon there were lots of tourists taking photos and the police started to cordon the scene off.” The golfer, based at Vale de Lobo, on the Algarve, added that no ambulance arrived for some time.

Petrified

Another British expat who saw the dead body, had arrived at Da Bruno’s to collect a takeaway order. However minutes after arriving she claimed staff became panicked and said someone had been shot and

killed in the car park by the restaurant. “Imagine if I had interrupted the shooting or if I had seen it, I would have been absolutely petrified. “It’s awful that these shootings seem to be happening much more frequently.” When the Olive Press contacted Da Bruno’s, a waiter said he could not confirm or ‘say anything’ after consulting his manager. The fresh shooting comes just days after Briton Peter Williamson was shot dead outside his home in Mijas. He was the fourth murder victim in the last couple of months. Police believe that killing was also gang-related.

Decade to report domestic violence SPANISH victims of domestic violence take almost a decade to report abuse. Research by the government has found that it takes an abused partner on average eight years and eight months to seek help. 41.2% of women killed are aged between 41 and 50 years old and 49% of killers are of the same age group. Just under half of victims and perpetrators of domestic violence in Spain are foreigners.

Submerged economy

THE pilot of an incredible narco-submarine carrying €120 million of drugs has been arrested. He is the fifth man to be picked up after the vessel was seized in Galicia after its 4,778-mile journey from South America. A total of three Spaniards and two Ecuadorians have been arrested since the 65-foot craft, which carried 3,000kg of cocaine, divided into 152 bales, landed in Aldan. Officials say it is the first time a narco submarine, worth an estimated €2.5 million, has been found operating in Spanish waters.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es HE’S been truly lighting up the lives of Malaga residents over the last few months. So it was more than appropriate that Antonio Banderas should switch on the city’s celebrated Christmas lights. The Hollywood star, who was born in the city, has just opened a new theatre in the city. Banderas joined Junta President Juanma Moreno and Malaga Mayor Francisco de la Torre (right) at the

IN SPAIN: For spy drama

Colin on the costas OSCAR-winning English gent Colin Firth is shooting a World War II film on the Costa del Sol, but needs some help. Producers of Operation Mincemeat have put out a casting call for the movie, which sees the King’s Speech star playing the part of a spy. The film, also starring Scottish actress Kelly MacDonald, tells the story of how the Allies foxed Hitler during the war. It came when the navy faked the death of an ‘officer’ in the Royal Marines using the body of a tramp, washed up on a beach in Huelva. The body of Glyndwr Michael was dropped in the sea to be picked up by fishermen, before being handed over to the Germans. The fake plans in his pocket allegedly showed the Allies would launch a major drive against the Nazis in Greece, not Italy. Hitler fell for it and moved 90,000 troops from southern Italy, meaning the Allies faced a smaller opposition force when they landed in Sicily. The incredible case is said to have saved the lives of over 40,000 Allied soldiers. Based on a 2010 book by spy historian Ben Macintyre, filming begins in March along the Costa del Sol and Huelva. See Olive Press online for more stories on Operation Mincemeat

December 4th - December 17th 2019

Name in lights! annual switch on in front of thousands of spectators. Speaking at the event, he said: “This is my city and I will always work for it with all the love from my heart.” It was the first time in recent years that Malaga was without its famous light tunnel, which was this year sold to Liverpool City Council.

Fan of the family Helena Bonham Carter’s grandfather was a Spanish war hero who saved thousands of Jews SHE has become one of the most famous faces on TV screens this Autumn thanks to her portrayal of Princess Margaret in the Crown. Playing the controversial Queen’s sister in the third series of the Netflix drama, Helena Bonham Carter, 53, shows off the perfect regal poise. However, it emerges the actress is almost more a Spanish senorita, than a British one. In a fabulous new documentary, in which she stars, Channel 4 has pieced together the heroics of her Spanish grandfather during the Second World War. Going back to her Spanish roots, we discover that Edu-

ardo Propper de Callejon played a big role in saving thousands of Jews in occupied France. Then based in Paris, the Spanish diplomat defied his government to provide visas for Jewish families to escape into Portugal. In one moving scene, Helena met with Martha Bolinski in Bordeaux, whose family were among those saved by Eduardo, and who went on to reveal that her great-grandfather had gone on to become the founder of UNICEF in America after the war. Eduardo, who was born and studied law in Madrid, died when Helena was just three, leaving her with few memories, so she started her jour-

INTRIGUING: Bonham Carter is inspired by hero grandfather Propper (inset) ney by speaking to her moth- able. conventional war heroes, they er Elaina. “I think he had a great sense didn't fight in any battles or Elaina revealed: 'My father of what people should do in win any medals, but I want was very secretive, with very life. They would have all died to discover what they did for few friends, he never talked if he hadn't done it.' themselves.' about what he did in his life. As Helena herself explains in During the filming, she travHe was very modest because the documentary My Grand- elled to Paris to explore where what he did was so remark- parents’ War: 'They weren't her grandparents Eduardo, grandmother 'Bubbles' and her mother lived in the 1930s. They shared the house with an extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins and while life before the war was harHOW on earth does he do it? monious, when war broke out Despite stiff competition from his usual nemesis Cristiano it was fraught as Eduardo's Ronaldo and, this year, Liverpool’s amazing Virgil van Dijk father was Jewish and at risk (right), Lionel Messi (left, with family) has won the Ballon of the Nazis. d’Or for a record sixth time. The 32-year-old Barcelona star bagged football’s top prize for netting 54 times for club and country over the 2018 to 2019 Punished season. Undeterred he signed visas “Today is my sixth Ballon d’Or. It’s a completely different mofor hundreds of families, who ment, lived with my family and my children,” said the Argenwere able to cross neutral tinian. Spain to Portugal, where they “As my wife said, you must never stop dreaming but always were safe. work to improve and continue to enjoy. I am very lucky, I am Eduardo, who died in London blessed.” in 1972 at the age of 77, went Messi finished ahead of Dutch defender van Dijk, who helped on to be punished for his acLiverpool to beat Tottenham in the Champions League final tions, and sent to Morocco, this year. with a ruined reputation. In third place was former Real Madrid star Ronaldo, who But the demotion had a silver completed a big money move to Juventus this season. lining, because in Morocco Meanwhile American striker Megan Rapinoe, who led the US his Jewish family were out of national team to a second successive World Cup this year, won danger. the Golden Ball award, with England’s Lucy Bronze second.

Another fine Messi

NEWS

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Pavement payout A WOMAN who slipped on a pavement has been awarded €37,000 in compensation by the Junta. Her accident in Almeria was caused due to a ‘large amount’ of water and soap, which had no warning signs. The woman, who received only minor injuries, is to be paid out following a twoyear legal battle.

Drowning horror A BRITISH dad has drowned while holidaying with pals on the Costa del Sol. Andrew Wallace, 54, from Bolton, was found dead in Benalmadena after getting separated from his mates on a night out. His body was found by a local in the marina.

Holy guacamole A TRIO of men have been arrested for stealing 1,200kg of avocados from a farm near Granada. The farm’s owner was alerted by a neighbour during the theft, who spotted the youngest of the three suspects.

December 4th - December 17th 2019

More trouble for ‘chorizo’ Chaves ANDALUCIA’S longest-running leader is facing prison over a new fraud probe. Ex-president Manuel Chaves - who was last month banned from public office for nine years in the ERE case - is being investigated over a €6m public money scandal. Judge Jose Vilaplana is probing two dodgy loans to a chorizo factory in Jaen. The factory, Hamsa, was handed the money in an opaque deal in 1999, despite

such payouts being specifically forbidden by the European Commission. Chaves, who many believe was lucky to avoid prison under the ERE sentencing, ran the Junta for 19 years until 2009, when he moved to join the government in Madrid. He is being probed alongside former PSOE minister Gaspar Zarrias and a dozen other politicians. See Reptiles on page 6/7

YOU Sick hunt

Total bankers! Spanish bank refuses to cover British expat after he loses €1,000 in 10 minutes from simple ATM scam EXCLUSIVE By Charlie Smith

A RETIRED British expat has sounded the alarm after a thief robbed him of €1,000 – while his bank Unicaja has refused to pay out compensation. Neville Stock, 66, from London, says he was scammed in broad daylight as he tried to withdraw money at an Estepona cash machine. The dad-of-three claimed a ‘six foot three athletic Algerian man’ began ‘shouting aggressively’ at him as he was punching in his pin code. In a police denuncia seen by the Olive Press, Neville explains that the sun was ‘shining directly onto the

machine’ and that his vision was obscured. The former home security company boss then accepted help from the stranger, trusting him to insert the card, which he instead secretly pocketed. He then watched over Neville’s shoulder as he typed the numbers, before legging it and withdrawing at two nearby cash points in quick succession. “I thought he was helping me,” Neville, who has lived in the area for 19 years with his wife, told the Olive Press. Within three minutes, Neville had reported the theft to a bank manager at a nearby Unicaja. However, despite his panic,

VICTIM: Neville Stock was withdrawing money the bank manager then took a four-minute phone call, before telling Neville he’d already lost €500. The employee then cancelled the card before he realised

My boy’s back! THE father of a British boy has been arrested in Spain after absconding with his son nine months ago. Rafael Jurado-Cabello, from Cordoba, but with British residency, was arrested at Madrid airport after getting off a flight from Mexico with his son Angelo Jurado-Marmolejo. Angelo’s mother, Karol Marmolejo, said being reunited with her nine-year-old boy was ‘the best Christmas present’. The boy’s father has been detained under the terms of a European Arrest Warrant, after a joint operation between British and Spanish police. Det Insp Matthew Lloyd, of Avon and Somerset Police said: “Everyone is delighted Angelo has been found safe and well.”

that another €500 had been withdrawn. Neville was later told by Unicaja that he would not be covered by the bank’s insurance as the thief had known his pin number.

Panic

“I blame Unicaja for being too slow,” said Neville, “and the police for – from the sound of it – doing nothing.” A Guardia Civil spokesperson said: “We are investigating this case. Normally if we have access to any CCTV it is up to the judge to authorise our access.” Neville’s bank manager at Unicaja refused to comment on the allegations that staff were slow, but did say: “These kinds of crimes are not common.”

A HUNTER has been filmed dragging a dog along the road by its neck after allegedly beating her to within an inch of her life. The shocking footage was taken in Galicia, with several witnesses reporting the man having shot his dog to cops. In the video the hunter, from Lugo, can be heard saying he can ‘shoot whoever the f**k he wants.’ The dog, who had just given birth to six puppies, had a bullet wound and serious injuries to the skull. She is being treated at the Rof Codina animal hospital, while her puppies have been taken into care, according to NGO Mundo Vivo. The man could now face up to 18 months in jail and receive a €30,000 fine if prosecuted.

In the dog house A DOG-OWNER has been ordered to pay €8 a day for three months after his pet almost starved to death. The cruel Spaniard left his pooch chained up in the sun without food and water, according to police. He also forced the animal to live in its own excrement at a property in Estepona.

FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than one million people a month.

OPINION

We want to be eco-friendly but…

By Heather Galloway in Madrid

AT the drop of a hat Madrid has managed to hustle together an alternative venue for the COP25 summit in record time. And the result is pretty impressive. Eager for the prestige, the capital put out a call for 2,000 volunteers to help set up the conference in a month when it usually takes two years. And the army of eco-helpers are everywhere, handing out goody bags while ironically speaking about the need to consume less over Christmas. “I’m very stressed about it what to do,” said Corina Popa from Romania. “My family is big on Christmas but I’m trying to make it more experience-based, giving things like massages.” Naturally, sustainability has become a buzzword throughout the city with phases like ‘circular economy’ rolling easily off people’s tongues. Yet, still the street outside Primark is mobbed and the traffic on the A6 makes it a daily death trap. “People are lazy about not using their cars,” says volunteer Cristina Gomez. “There’s no excuse. We have a very good public transport system.” Yes, indeed, except disgruntled workers at the Metro had not read the script and called a strike on only the second day of the summit. It meant the majority of COP25 delegates having to travel back to their hotels in taxis. At least Greta got there by sail and rail!

Dog’s days are over DAVID Klein has been in the limelight for over 60 years. But not always for the right reasons. The Euro Weekly News’s in-house canine columnist for 20 years first hit the headlines at the youthful age of 17, for impersonating a police officer. And like any stray mutt, it seems you couldn’t teach ‘David the dogman’ new tricks. After leaving for Spain he moved on to pedalling dodgy driving licences to expats, in between hacking rivals’ websites. And in doing so accumulated a string of enemies along the Costa del Sol throughout the 90s and onwards. Notoriously, his dog-whistle scam-buster group ‘Costa del Sol Action Group,’ claimed to expose scams, while simultaneously marketing new ones. However, he had to die before the most shocking revelation could come to earth: a multi-million tax fiddle. What’s more eyebrow raising is that another less reputable newspaper gave dodgy David free reign on its pages to build a reputation for himself, which allowed him to get away scot free for so long.

Publisher / Editor

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AWARDS

2016 - 2019 Best expat paper in Spain and the second best in the world. The Expat Survey Consumer Awards.

2012 - 2019 Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

December 4th - December 17th 2019

The ‘Marques’, the ‘Minister’ and the trade union boss - just three of the 21 senior political figures who turned a billion euros aimed for unemployed Andalucian workers into a ‘reptile fund’ to pay for drugs, fast cars and prostitutes

Reptiles O

VER €25,000 per month on coless early retirement packages for locals caine, €400,000 for a fake chicken who had supposedly worked in the nearby farm and thousands on bottomless Alquife mine - despite them never having gin and tonics. set foot underground. That’s just a few of the ways €680 million The truth is, almost no-one had. The tiny of embezzled Junta de Andalucia cash was village of 2,000 citizens had only a distillspent during the infamous ERE scandal beery and a cork extraction plant to rely on tween 2001 and 2009. for employment. Expats and tourists to Spain may have But that was all to change, on paper at come across the term and perhaps heard least, when PSOE councillors Jose Rosenthe odd anecdote on its significance. Unluckily for them, the businessmen re- do and Jose Sayago set up a fake network But few will understand its staggering corded the meetings and handed the tapes of companies listing dozens of local residepths of debauchery. over to Madrid’s Ministry of Employment, dents taking early retirement. Dubbed the ‘reptile fund’ by those in the which sent them to the prosecutor’s office. In total, the group was paid around €60 know, this vast pool of money came from While the Junta’s then Employment Minis- million over five years to do nothing. Madrid with the intention of stimulating ter Francisco Javier Guerrero brushed it off Regionally, the reptile fund handed out employment and aiding ailing companies. as merely a fund which ‘helped businesses money in a similar way to hundreds of busiBut, in reality, it was illegally syphoned off breathe’, Alaya realised there was some- nesses in hundreds of towns and villages. to pay off friends and key enemies of the thing much more sinister going on. It included the formation of dozens of lanSocialist-run Junta, creating What quickly became clear guage schools, IT and marketing compawhat will now go down as was that chain-smoking nies and organic fruit and veg businesses. the biggest public money Like a capo from Guerrero was the man with Almost all fake. corruption case in Spanish the keys to the safe. So brisk was the trade that a separate the mafia, he history. Looking like a capo from the company was set up in Sevilla to furnish Let me explain. ERE stands he ruled the roost these ‘firms’ with computers, desks and filruled the roost mafia, for ‘Expediente de Reguwith energetic aplomb, ing cabinets… and even personnel, if none lacion de Empleo’, and is this now put down to his could be found locally on the day the inwith energetic a procedure which allows €25,000-a-month cocaine spectors came to visit. aplomb companies facing bankhabit, confirmed by his For that was the deal: you could get a fund ruptcy to fire workers and chauffeur in a sensational of up to €450,000 per firm, which would receive public funding to court testimony be delivered a few days underwrite severance and early retirement (more of which later). after an official inspection packages. Yes, you’ll have to read that He could make anything hapfrom the Junta. Managed to again. pen, as long as you played by As the Olive Press reported Most of the payments were made off the his rules, voted Socialist and evade the long a few years ago, a truck books and without any form of public scru- made sure he got his generwould arrive with the nec- and in Spain’s essary number of desks tiny and, so far, 500 people have been ous kickbacks. probed since investigations began in 2010. He handed out cash from the computers a day becase slow - arm and Involving seven judges, the tentacles of the fund at will, and literally dozfore the inspection and scandal are buried so deep that the case ens of friends and neighbours then return a day later to of the law had to be broken into 146 different probes. benefited. pack them away. Finally, last month, the highest-ranking for- They included pal Jose All you needed was a local mer officials finally faced justice. Llorente, who received a sevoffice which, of course, They included ex-president Jose Antonio erance package from cork production com- was easy to find care of the local SocialGrinan, who was handed six years prison pany Aglomerados Morel - despite never ist-run town hall. for perjury and misuse of public funds. He having worked there. The money would then be spent on varwas also barred from public office for 15 He later told investigators he thought the ious kickbacks to key personnel, family years. money arriving into his account was ‘a gift and friends. The vast majority, however, His successor, Manuel ‘Monolo’ Chaves, from God’. was usually squandered on home decorawas given a nine-year ban from public of- Another neighbour was ‘fired’ from a bogus tions, foreign holidays and fast cars, with fice for lying to protect his PSOE colleagues company that he never worked for, earning El Pedroso’s councillors opting for family during the trial. himself a €1,100 a month severance pack- holidays together in Greece and China, for They are just two of the so-far 21 ex-politi- age from 2003 until 2013. example. cians handed prison sentences and bans Deals were notoriously made by Guerrero from political life. And it has shocked Spain with a gin and tonic in hand at his favourite to the core. Sevilla restaurant, Cabo Roche, and nearby drinking spot El Caramelo. But it was in his hometown of El Pedroso, in the rolling Sierra Moreno hills north of It was Guerrero’s so-called ‘cocaine chauffeur’ who offered up the most detailed and Sevilla, where he was really loved. scandalous testimony. The ERE scandal began when campaigning Driver Juan Trujillo admitted to judges how judge Mercedes Alaya launched a probe he spent at least €900,000 of public cash into irregularities in the municipal compaon cocaine, booze and ‘partying’ at brothny Mercasevilla. els with his boss. It came after two former directors attempt- Playing the role of Robin Hood, he gar- He was known as ‘the Minister’ in his ed to bribe a pair of hotel owners, offering nered the nickname, ‘the Marques’ and hometown of Andujar, a tiny hamlet north them the concession for a hospitality train- showered residents with millions of euros. of Jaen best known for being an epicentre ing school for a cool €450,000. The former mayor, he handed out count- for the recovery of the Iberian lynx.

Special report by Laurence Dollimore in Sevilla

The Minister

A judge’s hunch

The Marques

FEATURE

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Olive Press7 online

December 4th - December 17th 2019

Spain’s best English news website

CORRUPT: And now in prison (from far left) Employment Minister Francisco Guerrero, the ‘cocaine chauffeur’ Juan Trujillo and CGT union boss Juan Lanzas

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He admitted taking €1.4 million in public aid for business projects which never materialised. The grants were given to front companies including Iniciativas Turisticas Sierra Morena and Logica Estrategica Empresarial de Trujillo Blanco. One such business included an alleged chicken farm, for which he received €450,000. And one of the sacked workers from these firms saw him give €122,468 to his mother. As he awaits his sentence - for more are set to be handed down - Trujillo is back in Andujar with his wife. “He is well groomed, as always,” one local told a national newspaper, “Like a minister, in fact, and that’s why we call him ‘the Minister.’”

The Union boss Another man yet to hear his fate is Juan Lanzas, a leading trade unionist who allegedly pocketed up to €13 million in commissions for admitting companies into the corrupt network. His mother once boasted to locals in their hometown of Albanchez de Magina, in Jaen: “Mi hijo tiene dinero para asar una vaca,” (my son has enough money to roast a cow...essentially, he had money to burn). And she wasn’t wrong, given this true socialist from the UGT union bought 16 properties with his loot and had €80,000 cash stashed inside a mattress. Despite paying €450,000 to be released on bail in 2013, prosecutors are seeking an eight-year sentence in his upcoming trial. Like any corruption case, there are those who have managed to evade the long - and in Spain’s case slow - arm of the law.

Missing money-man Eduardo Pascual Arxe (below), a former Catalan banker who helped commission the fraudulent EREs, fled to Africa in July 2015 and is yet to be found. The slippery money man was once the president of Eurobank, which he fraudulently bankrupted and enriched himself to the tune of €12 million some 15 years ago. That trial only began however, in the spring of 2015 and by that summer, Arxe had left for Burkina Faso. Wanted for the bank collapse and his role in the ERE case, he set in motion an escape plan he had planned some years earlier. Back in 2005, after investigations had begun, he married a Bolivian woman 25 years his senior. He used his marriage to acquire Bolivian nationality and changed his name to Marcellino Jose Monasterios Arce. He first fled to Guinea before settling in Burkina Faso, where he began cultivating medical marijuana. Despite being arrested in the capital of Ouagadougou in 2017, an administration error in the extradition request from Spain’s National Court meant the Burkina Faso authorities had to let him go. They did say he would have to appear in front of a court every three days but, predictably, he vanished again and is now believed to be hiding in neighbouring Benin. Spanish police are said to be working on a new plan to have him brought back to face justice. It’s just one of dozens of linked stories which have fed Spain’s column inches since the ERE story broke.

IRON LADY: Mercedes Alaya arrives at court with her trademark suitcase

OPINION Caged at last

t’s thanks to the unshakable determination of one woman that 19 Andalucian politicians were sentenced to a total of 86 years in prison for swindling the public out of millions of euros. The iron lady of the Spanish justice system, judge Mercedes Alaya (above) has devoted almost a decade of her life to uncovering the gross corruption of the former PSOE leaders. And it is she who should be remembered as the unsung heroine of the sorry ERE saga. The €1billion-plus slush fund that paid for ex-employment minister Javier Guerrero’s cocaine-fuelled afternoons in brothels has been dubbed the ‘reptile fund’. And this 63-year-old alleged socialist can only be described as reptilian, seemingly unable to arrive or leave a single court hearing without a fag hanging from his mouth or gripped between his fingertips. Hopefully his eight year jail sentence will give him ample time to reflect on why splurging money meant for laid off workers and the unemployed is a bad look for a politician meant to be on the people’s side.

THE COMMUNITY GROWS In further good news the Olive Press continues to grow around Spain - opening its FIFTH paper in Murcia and the Costa Blanca south. It means our community footprint expands … and with it our network of local reporters and writers. Supported by our genuine (not purchased) social media following we now have 22,100 Facebook followers and 7,250 Twitter fans.

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THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU… The Olive Press is offering a special BLACK FRIDAY special month deal to anyone who wants to be seen by our million-plus visitors a month. For a special discounted price of just €350 euros a month we ! can ensure that you ALSO get seen by onth our 30,000 Social Media followers AND all m 250,000 print readers. Yes, if your business cannot grow from that deal, then good luck in 2020!

A country in crisis However for the PSOE, the recent sentencing could not have come at a worse time, fresh off the back of the fourth general election in four years which delivered the Socialists a very slim majority. The party is in full damage control as it tries to negotiate an agreement with the Catalan separatists ERC. Its saving grace is that neither the leaders of the PSOE or the party itself (at least there is no proof) used any of the money to enrich themselves. The same cannot be said for the infamous Gurtel case involving the conservative Partido Popular which saw millions spent illegally funding the party while its leaders splashed stolen cash on weddings, fast cars and luxury holidays. But while the ERE architects may have been sharing the wealth to residents in a region often ignored by Madrid when it comes to investment and attention, it’s hard not to think what €1 billion could have achieved… and probably considerably more. From the much-needed railway network along the Costa del Sol to the desperate lack of health services in inland regions or the poverty in Cadiz. One can only hope that Spain, the youngest democracy in Europe, will leave such corruption in the past, and, at the risk of sounding patronising, grow up.

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- BREAKING: British man gunned down on Spain’s Costa del Sol (21,112) - Arrest made after two British holidaymakers were conned for thousands in timeshare scam on Spain’s Costa del Sol (14,804)

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- Woman falls down burst sewer drain, roads closed and drivers rescued from vehicles as Spain’s Costa Blanca put on ORANGE alert following new gota fria (14,447)

- WATCH: Terrifying shootout ‘on the streets of Marbella’ goes viral… but is all what it seems? (14,410) - Spain’s Malaga swelters in winter heatwave (and it continues until Sunday (10,817)

GREEN

December 4th - December 17th 2019

Point of no return We must all do better and stop ‘bragging’ about who is ‘doing more’ insists Spanish minister SPAIN has scolded countries for ‘silent complicity’ in the global environmental crisis as a key climate summit launched in Madrid. Environment minister Teresa Ribera warned nations not to treat the COP25 summit as a trade fair, to ‘brag about who is doing more’. The pivotal environmental conference comes as world leaders try to agree on concrete action to ensure that a 1.5 to 2 degree temperature rise agreed at the Paris Climate Summit is kept to. The conference kicked off with UN leader Antonio Gu-

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terres warning the planet had reached a ‘point of no return’. It is vital to establish a common time frame for countries to implement climate commitments, and resolve the issue of international carbon markets. That issue is the only one which delegates failed to agree at last year’s COP24 in Poland. As part of the Paris accord, signed in 2016, countries volunteered to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. However, many major countries are not on track to reduce their emissions and

even if they were the world would still warm by well over the 2 degree limit. Since 2016, the USA, which is the second largest producer of CO2 emissions in the world, has begun withdrawing from the agreement.

Reservoir dangers

November 20th - December 3rd 2019 RESERVOIRS across Andalucia are 31% emptier than 8the GREEN Clean beds same time last year. Despite recent rains, they now stand at a capacity of 37%, down from 56% in December 2018. Call for hospipe ban after shockingly low A shocking 14 areas of Andalucia are now officially in water levels revealed drought, including Sevilla’s Guadiamar, which is in an ‘emergency’ situation. The reduction in water levels comes after the Olive Press revealed shocking photos showing the plummeting water height at Lake Istan last issue (right). The Guadalquivir basin is currently 36% full, holding 2,888 cubic hectometres of water, while the Mediterranean basin GREEN FINGERED saw its water levels increase by two cubic hectometres. Reservoirs in Andalucia have been shedding water for seven months this year - since the end of April - compared to the FLASHBACK: Last issue normal four-month-long May to September drought. AN environmental company has teamed up with a sea cleaning organisation to clear up the waters of the Costa del Sol. Equilibrio Marino and Alnasar joined forces and will provide year-round cleaning to control all the waste dumped in the sea as well as seeking out and reporting any possible environmental threats. Fernando Alarcon, head of Equilibrio Marino, said: “Plastics, wet wipes, cigarette butts, sewage from waste plants, and even illegal fishing, are all threats to the marine ecosystem as they break down the waters of the Costa del Sol.” Among the team tackling the environmental issue are professional sailors, divers, and scientists. Already the groups have found a huge discarded fishing net close to the beach, which trapped some fish on the seabed.

PLOT: Set to be a kid’s learning environment

Hold your hoses By Robert Firth

A BRITISH photographer has called for a hosepipe ban on the Costa del Sol, after shocking photos she took show the plummeting water levels at a reservoir. Michele Brecknell says she has ‘never’ seen the Lake Istan reservoir (right) so low in the 23 years she has lived here. She now wants the town hall to impose a hosepipe ban and encourage people to conserve made aware,” she told the Olive Press. water. “We should not be washing Brecknell took three photos of our cars. People need to be the lake over an 11-month period.

The first photo taken in January shows the lake looking full. By late September when the second photo was taken the water level has reduced so much that the top storey of a derelict house has emerged from the lake’s surface.

WORK is underway to build an Andalucian In the final photo taken less town’s first urban than two garden for school children. months later the enThe plot in Estepona will be used to teach children about dif- tire two-storey house surfaced. ferent types of fruit trees and plants. “It has happened in about two A variety of avocado, mango, lemon and a half months– that’s the included in the garden, alongside and orange trees will be scariest thing,” Brecknell said. plants such as potatoes, peppers, watermelon, zucchini and The 59-year-old estate agent Estepona Council has set aside onions. said that officials at Istan town which will be built over a one and€58,200 for the project, hall told her there wasn’t a 1,000-square-metre plot next to a half month period on problem because the lake wasa The urban garden will consist of El Carmen public school. a three level orchard, wood- 30% full. “I think it’s a ludien planters and a tool shed containing crous attitude to have,” she A council spokesperson said it was gardening equipment. said. “They say we are waiting ‘fundamental’ that children have contact with nature. for it to rain. We need a hell of a lot of rain to fill that.”

GREen enErgy promise

SPANISH energy company Endesa will splash half of its investments on renewables in the next few years. The gas and electricity firm will invest €3.3 billion in green energy over the coming three years totalling €600 million in 2020, €1,000 million in 2021 and €1,400 million in 2022. The company’s green transition is part of an agreement with the Spanish government to provide 900 megawatts (MW) of the mainland’s energy. The Italian-owned energy supplier is investing €6.3 billion in Spain over the next three years, almost 15% more than it originally planned to.

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THE EU has issued Spain with a written warning over its radon gas levels due to lung cancer risks. It comes as the Spanish Government has failed to implement an EU directive on exposure to ionizing radiation. EU rules stipulate that member states must have a national plan to control the harmful effects of the invisible and odorless radon. Although radon naturally seeps through the ground, high concentrations of the gas, in areas like Madrid and southern Galicia, pose greater lung cancer risks. The European Commission has also pressed Austria, Estonia, Hungary and Belgium to do more to tackle the threat of radon.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s new president has accelerated destruction of the Amazon rainforest. The world’s biggest rainforest currently absorbs 5% of the world’s CO2 emissions every year. The forest recycles its own water to produce the same rain which falls on it. If over 25% of the forest is destroyed, scientists say it will stop producing its own rain and become a savannah, causing world Co2 emissions to balloon. Over 20% of the Amazon is already gone. “It has not been easy to work with Brazil on this subject in recent years,” said Ribera. She added that losing the Amazon would cause a ‘carbon bomb’ for the world. “Sadly, those making progress get criticized more than the people who stay silent,” added Ribera, who headed France’s Institute for Sustainable Development prior to her current role. Spain stepped in to host the climate summit after massive protests against inequality in Chile forced the South American country to pull out of staging it. Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg arrived at the summit last night having landed via catamaran in Lisbon on Tuesday morning. Her arrival in Lisbon coincided with the release of a bleak report by the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization, which warns that the past decade is almost certain to be the hottest yet recorded.

Journey of a lifetime THE world’s most famous teenager, Greta Thunberg has arrived in Madrid as she makes her way to the crucial COP25 climate summit in Madrid. The 16-year-old Swedish activist crossed the Atlantic to Lisbon, before getting the train to Madrid, where she is expected to deliver one of her impassioned speeches. She crossed the ocean on the La Vagabonde catamaran with several crew, including her dad Svante and British sailor Nikki Henderson. Thunberg joins Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and other world leaders at what could be the most important climate event ever.

December 4th - December 17th 2019 Check out our issues online at www.theolivepress.es

Dried up

Readers react to a shocking photo showing the drop in water levels at a Costa del Sol reservoir, prompting hosepipe ban calls (Hold your hoses, Issue 331, pg 8).

Gibraltar Issue 110 OLIVE PRESS GIBRALTAR

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Justice at last

IT is the biggest public money scandal in Spanish history, estimated at nearly €1 billion. Now, finally, two former Andalucia leaders are heading to prison banned from office for their linksand to the disgraceful ERE scandal. Ex-Junta president Jose Antonio Grinan has been sentenced to years jail and banned from office six for 15 years, while predecessor Manuel Chaves has been banned from office for nine years. The pair oversaw the scheme, which saw the shocking theft of at least €680 million - dubbed the ‘Reptile fund’ - meant to go to companies in trouble and to stimulate employment. A further 17 politicians and businessmen who worked with the Junta received a total of 86 years in prison between them, a Sevilla court has ruled.

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A journey you won’t forget

AUTUMN DREAM: The road to Ronda through the Genal Valley

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Bewitched by fairytale Ronda Y

OU don’t have to be writing the next award-winning novel or screenplay to appreciate Ronda, but it helps. Artists from Ernest Hemingway to Orson Wells – both commemorated with busts in the town – have made pilgrimages to Ronda for centuries in search of artistic inspiration. And it’s easy to see why from the moment you begin your journey here in the south east – just outside the town’s walls. For this is the only place you should begin your trip to Ronda. To really understand this historic medina, you have to first leave it and start again outside the town’s walls. From this vantage point, Ronda – dripping with history – perches monumentally above the olive and auburn countryside it overlooks. And through winding dirt tracks by ramshackle farms tended by shepherds with crooks in the shadows of the fortress and up stone steps towards the town, you catch a glimpse of the mythic beauty that transfixed so many artistic geniuses. So stunning is Ronda’s puente nuevo, bridging the canyon the town is built over, that Germany’s most famous poet, Rainer Maria Rike, credited his stay at the Reina Victoria hotel overlooking the ravine with curing his writer’s block.

This picture-perfect mountain town has charmed many an artist in time past and many famous people recently yet still retains its mythical appeal. Robert Firth shares the magic

Remote

Around almost every corner is tucked a stunning church, immaculately preserved historical ruins or a viewing point over postcard landscapes. If entering the town the proper way from the south, a stop-off at the Arab Baths is almost obligatory. Indeed passing through the exceptionally well-preserved 13th century hammam was mandatory for visitors to the Muslim medina when the town was a stronghold of the Emirate of Granada. It was one of the last places to fall to Catholic rule. After the conquest, its remote location in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park made it a refuge for Muslims fleeing per-

RECENT VISITORS: J.K Rowling, Anne Hathaway, Gordan Ramsay, Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker and Ricky Gervais

Continues next page

It’s time to head to the hills for a classic winter break... our six-page Ronda special gives you the inside track

This included eight years for former Employment minister Javier Guerrero, who helped set up the scheme which embezzled money from 2000 to 2009. The bent politician was particularly guilty, having set up two bogus companies with his former driver - dubbed the ‘Cocaine Chauffeur’ defrauding over €700,000 betweenthem. The pair are said to have spent much of their afternoons spending the THE new money taking cocaine with prostigovernment is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030, its tutes at brothels near Sevilla. The final 1,700-page report, issued new minister for climate change by a panel of judges, announced that has revealed to the Olive Press. 13 of those accused received six to John Cortes told this paper how eight years in prison while all have despite the challenge, a Green been banned from public office for at Gibraltar is ‘realistic’. least 10 years. “I have never said it’s not a chalA further three, José Antonio Vi- lenge,” Cortes said. era, Francisco Vallejo and Carmen “I think Martínez-Aguayo were also minis- changes we have to make many in the way that we all ters. behave but I think it is possible In a major embarrassment for PSOE party, Chaves and Grinan the to achieve it. led “In some African countries the Junta for a combined 23 years, it’s already illegal to even import two thirds of the regional parliaa plastic bag or carry one with ment’s history. you.” The pair had been icons of the party, He called the Climate Change while Chaves went on to become minister in both the Spanish govern-a portfolio ‘overarching’ after dements of Felipe Gonzalez and Jose claring a Climate Emergency. Luis Zapatero. “All areas of government work The pair had overseen the set up will be influenced by commitof the €855 million slush fund, intendments to climate change,” he ed for retired and unemployed work- said. ers and struggling companies.

To the future

Rock to be carbon neutral by 2030 as new initiatives set to be launched

EXCLUSIVE By John Culatto

“I have to drive that very, very hard to make a real difference in everybody’s work and life patterns.” With New Harbours industrial estate already draped in solar panels, he is hoping to unveil whole raft of renewable energya projects in the next few months. “I think that society now has ‘hydrofluorocarbon’ (HFC) by clear picture of what we have toa 2047. do,” Cortes concluded. According to the Environmental “With the support of govern- Investigation Agency, ‘hydroments, together with NGOs and fluorocarbons, are super greencrucially with businesses, we house gases, manufactured for will achieve the carbon neutrali- use in refrigeration, air condity we need.” tioning, foam blowing, aerosols, It comes as the Kigali Amend- fire protection and solvents’. ment to the Montreal Protocol Unlike most other gases, these was extended to Gibraltar by the substances are ‘intentionally produced’. Government. The amendment “I am delighted that this amendto the glob- ment to the Montreal Protocol al agreement, has been extended to Gibraltar,” which was made Cortes added. in 1987, calls “This is one of the steps we needon countries to ed to take in order to continue to reach an 80% conform to international enviBASED reduction in the ronmental standards even when c o n s u m p t i o n we leave the European Union. of dangerous “I am grateful to DEFRA in the greenhouse gas UK for their support and their work on this and look forward to

EXPERT: John Cortes

other international agreements on environment being similarly extended to Gibraltar in the coming months.” Meanwhile, the minister also hopes to continue to raise standards in the culture portfolio he took over from Steven Linares. “I will improve the way we record and archive our culture,

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including our cultural heritage and promoting our culture outside Gibraltar,” he added. As a dramatist, one of his main tasks will be to create a new national theatre at John Mackintosh Hall over the next two years.

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JAILED: Grinan and Chaves

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STIR FRIED

scandal in Spanish hisIT is the biggest public money tory, estimated at nearly €1 billion. leaders are heading Now, finally, two former Andaluciafor their links to the to prison and banned from office disgraceful ERE scandal. Grinan has been Ex-Junta president Jose Antonio banned from office for sentenced to six years jail and Chaves has been 15 years, while predecessor Manuel banned from office for nine years. saw the shocking The pair oversaw the scheme, which the ‘Reptile fund’ theft of at least €680 million - dubbed and to stimulate - meant to go to companies in trouble employment.

Bent

who worked A further 17 politicians and businessmen 86 years in prison bewith the Junta received a total of tween them, a Sevilla court has ruled.Employment minThis included eight years for formerset up the scheme ister Javier Guerrero, who helped to 2009. which embezzled money from 2000guilty, having set up The bent politician was particularly driver - dubbed two bogus companies with his former over €700,000 bethe ‘Cocaine Chauffeur’ - defrauding tween them. of their afternoons The pair are said to have spent much with prostitutes at spending the money taking cocaine brothels near Sevilla. by a panel of judges, The final 1,700-page report, issued received six to eight announced that 13 of those accused banned from public years in prison while all have been office for at least 10 years. Francisco Vallejo A further three, José Antonio Viera, also ministers. and Carmen Martínez-Aguayo werePSOE party, Chaves In a major embarrassment for the 23 years, two and Grinan led the Junta for a combined history. thirds of the regional parliament’s while Chaves went The pair had been icons of the party, the Spanish governon to become a minister in both Luis Zapatero. ments of Felipe Gonzalez and Jose up of the €855 million The pair had overseen the set and unemployed workslush fund, intended for retired ers and struggling companies. 2001 and 2008 Under Chaves’s presidency betweeninto the fund. more than €576 million was diverted Mercedes Alaya first It is now nine years since judge 200 companies and began investigating the more than dozens of politicians. across an amazA total of 507 people were investigated ing 146 separate probes. ‘expediente de The scandal is named after the so-called which means a collecregulacion de empleo’, or ERE, which need to tive dismissal procedure for companies downsize. were made to allegHundreds of illegal ERE payments severance payments to edly struggling firms to make exist, the probe dislaid-off workers, many who didn’t covered. companies and friends Millions were also handed out to described as ‘totally via grants which prosecutors opaque’. the ERE scandal in The Olive Press first revealed about believed to have was billion €1.3 of total a 2015 when over a 12-year pebeen embezzled by corrupt officials riod. year, we revealed how In a front page report in May, that ministry were behind employment the at 16 politicians the scheme. the fund as long President Chaves was warned about about bogus redunago as 2004 by a union complaining who did not exist. dancy payments to miners in Huelva newspaper El Mundo, In a letter published in national people had ‘not been the group complained that theseoutside’. near the mine, neither inside or

double the price - and then Police called after expats charged a meal at Wok restaurant assaulted - for failing to finish EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade

in A BRITISH couple have called police after being charged DOUBLE for a meal they thought was below standard. Expats Wayne Clarke, 34, and partner Natalie, were left stunned after staff at Wok Asia 5 restaurant also then physically and verbally abused them. The pair told the Olive Press they were ‘assaulted’ for merely refusing to pay for four people when the only two of them had eaten at Zebuffet-style restaurant, in La nia. “The food was over-cooked and dry and appeared to have been heated up from the night before,” is explained Clarke, a builder who originally from the Midlands. bill “But when we asked for the they charged for four people, and

end of the we However, that wasn’t the at 3am, the when questioned said it was because saga, as later that night, believe was had left food on our plates! but couple awoke with what they “Obviously we refused to pay double, food poisoning. two.” their experience they wouldn’t accept paying for start- It is also apparent that To make matters worse, when they and isn’t unique, as online reviews give simied to leave the staff got aggressive larly low opinions. Asia 5 is rated started shouting at them. by the On Tripadvisor, Wok “The owner’s son grabbed my wifeus,” he 42nd out of 45 restaurants in La Zenia, bearm and shouted abuse at both of with all but one of this year’s reviews stars. continued. luck- ing rated with one or two garbage ever “I then called the police, who were Comments include, ‘Worst no wonder ily on the scene quickly.” told the presented with’, ‘Dreadful, Police backed up the couple and of the it was empty’ and ‘Horrible food, very restaurant staff to accept the offereaten’. rude waitress’. has one word of 16/06/2017 couple paying for ‘what they had 1 Clarke15:36 Untitled-1.pdf Understandably, the report readers, “AVOID!” “While they told us we could and go advice for Olive Press assault, we just wanted to pay home,” added Clarke.

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Justice at last

STIR FRIED

IT is the biggest public money scandal in Spanish history, estimated at nearly €1 billion. Now, finally, two former Andalucia leaders are heading to prison and banned from office for their links to the disgraceful ERE scandal. Ex-Junta president Jose Antonio EXCLUSIVE By Simon Wade Grinan has been sentenced to six years jail and banned from office for 15 years, while predecessor A BRITISH couple have called in Manuel Chaves has been banned police after being charged DOUBLE for a meal they thought was below from office for nine years. The pair oversaw the scheme, standard. which saw the shocking theft of Expats Wayne Clarke, 34, and partat least €680 million - dubbed ner Natalie, were left stunned after the ‘Reptile fund’ - meant to go to staff at Wok Asia 5 restaurant also companies in trouble and to stim- then physically and verbally abused them. ulate employment.

Police called after expats charged - and then assaulted - for failing double the price to finish a meal at Wok restaurant

Bent

The pair told the Olive Press they were ‘assaulted’ for merely refusing to pay for four people when only two of them

A further 17 politicians and busihad eaten at the bufnessmen who worked with the fet-style restaurant, in La Zenia. Junta received a total of 86 years “The food was over-cooked and in prison between them, a Sevilla dry and appeared to have been heated up from the night before,” court has ruled. explained Clarke, a builder who This included eight years for for- originally is from the Midlands. mer Employment minister Javier “But when we asked for the bill they Guerrero, who helped set up the charged for four people, and when scheme which embezzled money questioned said it was because we Police backed up the couple and from 2000 to 2009. had left food on our plates! told the restaurant staff to accept The bent politician was particular- “Obviously we refused to pay dou- the offer of the couple paying ly guilty, having set up two bogus ble, but they wouldn’t accept for paying ‘what they had eaten’. companies with his former driver for two.” “While they told us we could report - dubbed the ‘Cocaine Chauffeur’ To make matters worse, when they the assault, we just wanted to pay - defrauding over €700,000 be- started to leave the staff got aggresand go home,” added Clarke. sive and started shouting at them. tween them. However, that wasn’t the end of the The pair are said to have spent “The owner’s son grabbed my wife saga, as later that night, at 3am, the by the Continues on Page 5

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arm and shouted abuse at both of us,” he continued. “I then called the police, who were luckily on the scene quickly.”

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couple awoke with what they believe was food poisoning. It is also apparent that their experience isn’t unique, as online reviews

give similarly low opinions. On Tripadvisor, Wok Asia 5 is rated 42nd out of 45 restaurants in La Zenia, with all but one of this year’s reviews being rated with one or two stars. Comments include, ‘Worst garbage ever presented with’, ‘Dreadful, no wonder it was empty’ and ‘Horrible food, very rude waitress’. Understandably, Clarke has one word of advice for Olive Press readers, “AVOID!”

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and get the most success in your task

FIRST DATES: Take a trip to Elche’s UNESCO World Heritage site See pages 18-19

UK BASED

TRAVEL INSURANCE

BOTTOMS UP! Please pass my gratitude to Jack Gaioni for the very interesting and illuminating article (In the Land of (Spanish) Submacated edu Get 12-13). 331, pgs rines, Issue

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We live not far from the Colomera reservoir in Granada and see the same thing happen every year. As for people washing their cars in the street, I have never seen anyone in our village do it in all the time I have lived here as there is a by-law forbidding this. There is a thing called a car wash. Greta Halliday, Colomera

Price to pay

All embalses are low. It’s normal for Spain and we are in another drought situation. We need weeks of rain to fill them up. A few days makes no difference whatsoever. Blame the agriculture sector which refuses to pay the high prices for desalinated water. It costs much more than the free water it steals. Brenda Jones, Ronda

Veg pledge

Hosepipe ban? Car washing? I’d rather pledge for a ban on any new avocado and mango groves where I live. Johannes Broedelet, La Axarquia

Not their fault These people put their savings into buying these homes, why should they lose everything because of corrupt building practices (Bad to worse, Issue 331, pg 35)? The Left are wrong on this one. Valerie Schultz, Sotogrande

Don’t pay upfront I did job estimates and manage air con installers for 10 years (Air conned, Issue 331, pg 2). You should never pay upfront. Pay a deposit that’s reasonable of about a quarter to a third of the cost. If it’s half or more I would be very sceptical. It’s a shame, but this happens a lot in every country. Mark Samuel, Malaga

Throw away the key The politicians are a disgrace to the country and its people (Justice at last, Issue 331, pg 1). They should have everything taken from them and their families and be jailed for many more years.

Tree ban

Yes, I’d rather stop the planting of these hundreds of avocado trees, which need phenomenal amounts of water per tree, more than anything else! Evelyn Prior, Malaga

Not in my day

It’s a good job it rained for a couple of days then. I don’t think in all the time I’ve spent in Nerja and Frigiliana I’ve ever seen a hosepipe being used. Samantha Hancock, Nerja

Sandra Russell, Malaga

Come see me Is he able to come to Campasol as other Consulate staff have done (UK’s head honcho in town, Issue 331, pg 5)? I’m having a problem with Overseas Healthcare at Newcastle, getting the proper S1 form so I can obtain my Spanish medical card - the last of my documents required to remain in Spain legally.

Has anything piqued your interest in this week’s Olive Press? Have your say on the matter by emailing letters@ theolivepress.es or message us on at www.facebook.com/OlivePressNewspaper or Twitter @olivepress

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All solutions are on page 46

LA CULTURA

Ron’s last dance

Cave new world

AN ANCIENT cave painting, thought to be 5,000 years old, has been discovered in Spain. While it was first uncovered a year ago, it has taken experts from Russia 12 months to be certain of its origins. The painting, which looks like an arrow with a reddish hue, was found in Alburquerque, Extremadura by a local resident who was exploring nearby tombs. Roman Senin from Moscow’s Kurchatov Institute said his research showed that colours used in the paintings were ‘the product of heat treatment.’ “Simply put, the primitive artist heated minerals to a certain temperature in order to get the colour he needed,’ Senin added. It comes after the discovery of what has been dubbed the ‘Spanish Stonehenge’ in Extremadura this summer. The 7,000 year old Dolmen of Guadalperal was uncovered at the bottom of a reservoir following a drought.

A PIONEERING dancer who was the life and soul of the 60s London’s Flamenco scene has died at the age of 94. Ron Hitchins, known as ‘El Chino’ and ‘The Flash’ by friends in London, was known for his dancing skills and outlandish T-shirt designs that he sold in the East End. The Pena Flamenco de Londres dance

INBREEDING between ‘uncle and niece’ caused the striking facial deformity of Spain’s 17th century King Carlos II, a new study has revealed. The parents of Carlos II – Felipe IV and Mariana of Austria – ‘were uncle and niece, but with the blood accumulated over generations it was as if they were brothers, like incest’, wrote the team of 14 scientists in the report, published in the journal Annals of Human Biology. Carlos II had an over extended lower jaw, as well as droopy nose, eyes and cheekbones. “He had a maxillary deficiency and his entire face fell

December 4th - December 17th 2019 troupe described him as the ‘life and spirit of the London flamenco scene’ and ‘a friend of flamenco all over the world.’ It added that he ‘will forever be in our hearts.’ Hitchens was well known among Andalucians and Gibralterians living in the capital and was regularly spotted at Soho’s legendary Casa Pepe restaurant.

Royal gene fools Sex between siblings was responsible for former Spanish king’s ugly mug

out,” said Francisco Ceballos, a geneticist and one of the study’s lead authors. Ceballos highlighted King Carlos II’s ‘ugliness’, ‘speech impediments’ and inability to ‘chew’. The report also noted the king’s inability to stand up straight, as well as cognitive

Franco effect THE number of visitors to the Valley of the Fallen has plummeted by over 50% since the exhumation of former dictator Francisco Franco. There were 55% less visitors to the basilica in November 2019, compared to the same month in 2018.

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disabilities such as his inability to think clearly to the point of being ‘totally impressionable and lack- FUNNY LOOKING: King Carlos II ing his own will’. Ceballos’s team looked at 66 por- from 1516 until 1700, traits of the Spanish House of finding ‘an association Habsburg monarchs, who ruled between facial deformity and inbreeding’. The scientists noted the Habsburg’s strat14,421 people took a trip to the egy to ‘dominate most monument in the eleventh month of Europe’ through of the year, compared to 31,951 in marriages between reNovember 2018, according to offilated members of difcial figures. ferent ruling families. Franco’s remains were moved Ceballos said he is from the valley to Madrid’s El Parnow investigating the do-Mingorrubio cemetery on OcBourbon line of kings tober 24, following years of wranto expand the investigling over the exhumation. gation.

what’s on Peek a boo A PEAKY Blinders themed murder mystery game, will take place in Malaga on January 25 and Sevilla on January 18 in a secret location.

Christmas cheer EXPAT-organised The Festival of Christmas Traditions is the first of a series of gastronomic events in Benalmadena this month, from December 13 - 15 at Plaza Mezquita.

Runway success THE Marbella Design Academy Winter Expo & Graduation Party sees students display their designs, with free tapas, drinks and music, on December 13 from 7-8pm.

In full Swing A Rat Pack tribute to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis jnr, complete with classic banter, will take place in Nerja’s Casa Grande December 5, 8pm. Tickets €10.

December 4th - December 17th 2019 CLIMATE protestors took over the centre of Andalucia’s most polluted city on Black Friday to highlight the environmental impact of fast fashion. Schoolchildren participating in Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future teamed up with Extinction Rebellion activists to shut down Granada high street. Protesters dressed in reclaimed plastic and gas masks for a red carpet catwalk ‘die-in’ along Granada’s Calle Mesones. They were joined by Grandparents against Climageddon at the demo, which also called attention to the poor working conditions of garment workers exploited. Fashion is the world’s second most polluting industry after the oil and gas sector. The protest came ahead of the United Nation’s climate change summit currently being held in Madrid. Granada city hall has already declared a ‘climate emergency’ and brought out a new air contamination plan… but so far it’s just ‘hot air’ claim protesters. “There is no budget and no timetable, it’s not good enough,” insisted writer Phil O’Brien who lives in Granada.

LA CULTURA

Climagaedon

Fascinating exhibition Granada climate protesters expose unravels the the hypocrisy of the Black Friday groundbreaking spendathon, writes Jane Brooke work of photographer Lee Miller

EW photographers can glide effortlessly from landscape shots to studies of the body. Fewer still can do so while maintaining in each image the surrealist view of life. But American artist Lee Miller was a rare genius who could do both. Now photography fans have the chance to understand her talents at an exciting new exhibition at Malaga’s La Termica gallery. Over 100 prints of her extraordinary work, taken mostly in the 1920s and 1930s, are on display at the exhibition. In between her time documenting the horrors of war as a correspondent,

A female eye she spent time photographing nudes in striking, unusual ways. A nude body bent over in silhouette becoming unidentifiable, a man wear-

ing a bowler hat and a pyramid’s shadow on the sand: the snaps perfectly demonstrate Miller’s legacy. Attending the opening of

LA CULTURA

the exhibition, her son, Antony Penrose, said: “She was not only a fascinating woman, but also a great surrealist artist.” The photographs, on show

December 4th - December 17th 2019

until February 2020, are being lent to the gallery from his own private collection. Miller died at the age of 70 in Sussex.

SINGLE IMPLANT

IMPLANT BRIDGE

IMPLANT DENTURE

LA CULTURA

December 4th - December 17th 2019

HE may be a glamorous, globetrotting Bond girl, but 60s icon Valerie Leon has been hanging out with the British expats of Andalucia. The forever-young femme fatal dropped into Almeria, dining on seafood paella and champagne to celebrate her 76th birthday, last week. The Carry On star was in Mojacar, touring her one-woman show ‘Up Front with Valerie Leon’ in which she looks back on a glittering 50year career. With her natural allure unabated, she takes her hero-worshipping audiences through a multitude of iconic movie and TV moments. Fans, particularly Bond aficionados, flock to hear her cheeky revelations, including a three-ina-bed scene with Roger Moore in The Saint that she says ‘was completely innocent!’ An unscripted kiss from him in The Per-

End of an era

Bond and Carry On seductress performs her swansong for a bunch of expats

EXCLUSIVE By Jacqueline Bragg

and never looked back. Performing in this pocket of Al- Now a frequent traveller – she meria allows her to catch up with performs live on cruise ships and friends who have lived in the prov- to small theatres nationally in the ince for over 20 years. UK. Leon embarked “I was rather neron this ‘rather vous at the beginscary’ new career ning, no role to “The world has a decade ago in play, just Valerie the living room of Leon!” gone mad – the same pals. The Valerie Leon James Bond is in front of me is She then transformed and deconfident, sassy veloped the idea a fantasy and a and full of fun, as into the polished she reveals that creation” one-woman show comedy roles that tours globally. were her favourStarting off as a ites. ‘shy, non-swinging 60s teenag- She shot to fame with the Hai er’, she got her first break in the Karate aftershave adverts of the chorus line in Funny Girl on stage 1970s, which have remained in with Barbara Streisand in 1966 the national memory ever since. Leon honed her whipping skills for the role with a specialist instructor. “I took the lessons in my garden and noticed that the neighbours were looking out of their windows, perhaps a little perturbed,” she said. “These newly acquired skills did, however, lead to my part with Peter Sellers in The Revenge of the Pink Panther. A great actor, a wonderful actor and a special man, but difficult. He thought every woman would fall in love with him, but I didn’t!” She is regularly invited to make guest appearances on TV. In SMILING: Leon with fans at her show ‘Upfront with September this year, arguments Valerie Leon’ in Almeria erupted worldwide over a po-

suaders was kept in the final cut, which Valerie says she ‘enjoyed immensely!’ She also worked with Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me as a hotel receptionist before featuring in Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery playing 007. But Valerie refuses to reveal who she liked best: “They were so different, I will say that Roger was a lot more fun though!” We meet over dinner following the intimate show in a small venue in Los Gallardos. She’s statuesque, naturally beautiful (no surgery here), gracious, emitting an aura of youth and vitality, which more than belies her 76 years.

ICONS: Leon (above) with Sean Connery (left) and Ronnie Corbett (below) tential ‘Jane’ Bond film being made, which Leon ridiculed. She appeared on Good Morning Britain alongside Piers Morgan – where she said: “The world has gone mad – James Bond is a fantasy and a creation – it just doesn’t work for a Jane Bond.” Piers agreed. Leon added: “I was in mourning, I wore black. How can Bond be a woman?” I ask her why she has decided that this gig, here in Almeria, is her swansong? “I’m 76,” she sighs, but with a bright spark remaining in her eyes: “It’s hard work, but I will admit to you that I have had an offer for a cruise ship performance in August. “When I get such a warm response as I have had this evening – I still can’t believe that

so many people are so interested in my work – I feel a pull…so, who knows, shall we say ‘never say never again?’ Here’s hoping that you carry on Valerie Leon. Want to know more about Valerie Leon? See her website: www.valerieleon.com

Property

go S - p m to p ain ag ro ’s az pe in rty e

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Tip Top

Issue 35

December 2019

barca bound: Why Catalunya is worth a look in

THE BEST OF 2019

NEW WAVE: Spain’s architects have had a busy and creative year... see pg IV

BREMAINERS THE Brits may be leaving the EU but they are certainly remaining when it comes to Spain’s property market. That’s what the latest figures from the country’s notaries suggest, with stubborn Brits continuing to dominate the foreign investment market in the first six months of 2019. The positive figures come despite the ongoing economic uncertain-

British buyers aren’t going anywhere when it comes to property in Spain

ty driven by the UK’s imminent departure from the bloc. In Andalucia, home to Malaga and the Costa del Sol, Brits made up 25% of foreign sales in the first half of this year (followed by the Swedish on 11%). That market share soars to 53% in Murcia before dropping to a still rather healthy 19% in the Valencia region which includes Alicante

and the Costa Blanca. While the Brits aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, the figures show there was a 3.2% drop in foreign purchases compared to the same period last year. In total, foreign buyers bought 51,720 homes in the first six months of the year compared to 53,427 in the same period last year. It’s the first annual decline after seven-and-a-half years of uninterrupted growth. Valencia was the hottest market for foreign buyers, followed by Andalucia and Catalunya. One increasing trend seen across the country is the surging French market. French buyers made up 46% of the foreign market in Catalunya, 43% in Cantabria and a whopping 70% in Extremadura.

December 2019

A YEAR OF CHANGE

PROPERTY

Mark Stucklin

www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

While autumn sales figures are down, the last quarter should have picked up, writes Mark Stucklin Spanish home sales figures released for September 2019 show the market going through a period of weaker demand, though the figures also suggest the decline might be temporary. Data from the Association of Spanish Notaries reveals that Spanish home sales declined heavily between May and August compared to the same months last year, but settled down in September with sales returning to the same level as before. What might have caused the fall in sales? The market is facing a variety of headwinds at present. The most obvious cause of the decline in June and July was the introduction of a new mortgage law that held up

sales due to the confusion surrounding its implementation. The figures from the notaries show declines narrowing over the summer, and disappearing in September. If that trend continues the market will be growing again in the last quarter. The number of Spanish home sales inscribed in Spain’s Land Register in September for sales completed in the proceeding months was 34,493 excluding VPO subsidised housing sales, down 11% in a year. That’s the second consecutive month of double-digit de-

clines in these figures, which lag notaries’ figures by a few months. Declines should narrow and disappear over the next few months, following in the steps of the data from the notaries. New home sales declined by 20% whilst resales were down by 9%, which fits the explanation of the new mortgage law holding up sales – mortgages can be trickier to arrange for new homes than existing homes with a track

record. By region, sales were down in almost all areas of interest to foreign investors, with the exception of Murcia (+2%) and Valencia city (no change). The 20% decline in Málaga province, home to the Costa del Sol, is noteworthy, as that is one of the most popular areas with foreign buyers, especially British buyers. A decline in foreign demand will be part of this story. Year to date the picture is less

negative, with sales down in just over half the selected regions led by the Canary islands, in particular Tenerife. Sales were still slightly positive in Catalunya in the year to September. But it’s possible sales in the region could be hit in the last quarter by the flare up in political tensions. www.spanishpropertyinsight. com

Talking taxes Director of Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers, Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt, discusses capital gains tax mitigation when selling property in Spain The following article has been summarised to avoid unnecessary tax technicalities. The quoted tax rates are subject to change from one year to the next. Seek professional legal advice on your matter – see disclaimer below. CONGRATULATIONS, you have found a buyer for your Spanish property! On selling property in Spain, you are liable for two taxes: plusvalia and capital gains tax (CGT, for short). In this short article, we will focus on four strategies to mitigate a seller’s exposure to CGT; which range from completely negating it, to reducing it significantly. The first three strategies apply only to Spanish tax residents; the last one applies to both residents and non-residents alike.

Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers is a law firm specialized in conveyancing, taxation, inheritance and litigation. You can contact us by e-mail at info@larrainnesbitt.com, by completing our contact form or by telephone on (+34) 952 19 22 88.

Four strategies to mitigate a seller’s CGT liability

1. Absolute relief. All tax residents over 65-years-old are exempt from paying CGT on selling their main abode (vivienda habitual, in Spanish legal jargon). 2. Rollover relief. Any resident seller under 65-yearsold is exempt from paying CGT on selling their main home providing the following conditions are met: · Seller is under sixty-five year-old. · Seller is (tax) resident in Spain. · Dwelling must be his main home (main abode and must have dwelled in it permanently for the three previous years). It may be less than three years under exceptional circumstances i.e. job change, marriage or separation. · Sales proceeds reinvested in a new main home (in Spain or else in the EEA/EU, including the United Kingdom in a pre-Brexit world). Any sales proceeds not reinvested will be taxed apportioning them. · two-year deadline to reinvest the sales proceeds (on a new main home). 3. Pension annuities. This third tax relief is in addition to the above two main home tax reliefs. Applies to residents.

Any capital gains made by resident taxpayers over 65-years-old will go untaxed provided the following are met: · Sales proceeds reinvested in pension annuities. · Capped at €240,000. · Six-month deadline as from sale. 4. Traditional method. Your lawyer can offset from your CGT liability on selling, all expenses that went towards buying the property plus any refurbishment costs, provided you have VAT invoices to back them up. Applies to both residents and non-residents. Lawyer’s fees (on buying). Notary fees (on buying). Land Registry fees (on buying). Taxes (on buying). All property-related improvements (not maintenance costs) i.e. glass curtains, refitted kitchen, roof retiling, wood flooring, A/C, house alarm etc. Estate agent’s commission (on selling). Lawyer’s fees (on selling).

PROPERTY Mah-grab

Out of control

A PROFESSOR at a top economics institute has slammed rent controls as an ineffective solution to certain Spanish cities’ affordable housing crisis. Professor Miguel Angel Lopez said “It is not difficult to devise a more effective policy to reduce, and even eliminate, the amount of private rental housing than rent control.” He added that rent freezes ultimately encourage landlords to sell properties or use them for other purposes. His remarks come as left-wing Podemos, which has advocated rent controls, is on the brink of entering into government with the PSOE. Meanwhile those on the right of Spanish politics will be unimpressed by the professor’s lambasting of policies aimed at solving the housing crisis through increasing the supply of rental properties, which he called ‘a total disaster.’

Ups and downs

THE number of mortgages granted has increased significantly this year while house sales have stagnated. The latest figures for September reveal that mortgage loans surged 10.2% compared to the same month in 2018. This translates to 21,055 new mortgages, and follows the positive upward trend of August. It comes after the new Real Estate Credit Law this summer saw declines in the number of new mortgages of up to 20%. Meanwhile, house sales for the ninth month of 2019 stand at 42,538, a 0% change compared with last year’s figures.

AFTER the surprising news that Britons continue to dominate the Spanish property market (see pg 1), comes another revelation… Morrocans are the second-biggest home buyers in Spain. And the amount they are spending is increasing

more than any other nation. Buyers from the north African nation made 4,448 home purchases in the first six months of 2019, a 21% increase on the same period last year. In Andalucia, Moroccan nationals residing in Spain accounted for one fifth of purchases, more than any other country. Britons, meanwhile, still lead purchases in the autonomous com-

III

December 2019

Unruly renters

munity among foreigners not living in Spain full-time, making up a quarter of buyers. It comes as the first six months of 2019 saw fewer northern Europeans snapping up second homes in Spain, while there was an increase in economic migrants from North Africa, which may explain the surge in Moroccan purchases.

Talk of the towns From flower pots to historic architecture, Andalucia’s planning prizes recognise the region’s finest

ANDALUCIA’S urban planning awards have been doled out to highlight those towns that most improve citizens’ lives. Estepona took the ‘complete performance’ prize, for its ‘Garden of the Costa del Sol’ project, that has seen 120 streets remodelled. The town, which is famed for its foliage, has regenerated 17 kilometres of roads and 50,000 square metres of public space.

A SHOCKING 61% of property administrators have been the victim of squatters, new statistics have revealed. Meanwhile, one in three have had arguments with tourists, according to the report, ‘Illegal occupation and housing for tourist use’. Of the administrators questioned, 76% complained about noise while 66% cited a lack of respect for the rules. Despite unruly guests, 84% of holiday home owners said they prefer tourist lets to long-stays as they are more profitable, and 75% consider them safer. Hygiene and vandalism were also highlighted as some of the biggest issues facing landlords, the report by insurer, Mutua de Propietarios, found.

A new leaf Old properties have been demolished to make way for new walkways, more trees have been planted and new green spaces created.

MOGUL: Haim Tsuff

AN ICONIC Spanish landmark which has lain empty for almost a decade has been snapped up at a bargain price by an Israeli oil tycoon. Barcelona-based Haim Tsuff sealed the deal on the €47 million-valued former post office building at an auction in Sevilla. The president of Isramco paid just €23.5 million for Malaga’s former Correos building, after he was the only bidder on the lot.

Sevilla was the other big winner, as the city was recognised for its transformation of two urban spaces. The Andalucian capital has giv-

New host for the post

The building was seized by Malaga’s Provincial Council in 2016, after it was abandoned five years earlier. Prior to its seizure the building was owned by the Junta de Andalucia, which owed the local authority €8.6 million in unpaid council tax. The Israeli mogul’s plans for the building, located between the Alameda and Avenida Andalucia, are so far unknown.

en a new lease of life to Plaza de los Martires del Pueblo and Calle Maestro Juan Marin de Vargas. The areas were previously busy thoroughfares for cars and had become swamped by careless parking and congestion. Now the sites are a haven for tourists and locals alike thanks to the addition of street furniture, trees, open spaces and shaded awnings. Another prize went to the Architecture and Urban Planning service of Malaga, which was set up in 1975. The body oversees town plans and amendments to the Urban Planning Law of Andalucia for the province’s 64 municipalities. Some of the work the group has been praised for includes its creation, in 38 municipalities, of heritage catalogues that seek to preserve historic architecture.

PLANS to build 1,900 new homes in Torrox have been re-visited after a 12-month wait. A €28.4 million investment will fund 72 one, two and three-bedroom houses, the plans for which have been shelved since 2018. Prices for a two-bedroom property at the site start at €216,000. This urbanization, designed by Madrid’s BOD studio, is intended to be the centrepiece of the overall project. Titled ‘Essense’, the sustainable development is focussed on outdoor living and will be marketed to the Northern European market. Properties come complete with a health club, 12km of hiking trails, organic orchards and vineyards with a winery where residents can make their own wine. Building work will resume in the new year, once damage sustained during the site’s closure is repaired.

December 2019

Spain has offered up some truly stunning homes in 2019

PROPERTY

Home-ing ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S been another fascinating year in the world of architecture. Spain has, yet again, offe-

red up some inspired work when it comes to unique and trend-setting properties. From quirky inland dwellings to minimalist mansions, eco-friendly masterpieces and the chicest of city apartments, Spainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rich architectural tapestry makes it an exciting time to be an architect or interior designer in the country. In our last Property Magazine of the year, we take a look back at some of the homes which impressed us most in 2019.

December 2019

their craft New wave

THIS Catalunya home whose undulating Gaudi curves would have raised the eyebrows of the great architect himself set the bar for sustainable homes this year. Villa Stgilat Aiguablava in Emporda was completed for a wealthy Swiss family who wanted a modern property which adapts to its environment. Crafted by Enric Ruiz-Geli and his Cloud 9 studio, the home features a main house, adjacent pavilion and incredible swimming pool. Advanced fiberglass engineering was used to form the enormous sweeping Catalan vault stretching across the main residence interior, a feature echoing the view outward. The structure and materials recreate the properties of a natural cave to keep things cool during hot summers and cosy during the winter, while their porosity keeps the air inside fresh, making for a highly energy efficient home. Meanwhile, outside the preexisting community of pine trees are complemented by an integrated native foliage, filtered rainwater swimming pool and adjoining wild native plant garden.

December 2019

PROPERTY

Bare minimal WHEN it comes to minimalism, look no further than the established Fran Silvestre Arquitectos. This new Valencia city apartment by the local firm oozes cool with blocks of grey and white while offering stunning views of the regional capital. The storage is so hidden you would be forgiven for thinking no one lived in the property, with bookshelves, cupboards and fridges hidden behind panelled walls.

Pure theatre THIS curtain-raising design transformed a 19th-century Barcelona theatre into a stylish contemporary home guaranteed to get rave reviews from buyers. Aged brick walls and ceiling beams set the scene, hinting at the dramatic history of The Theatre House a short walk from iconic Avinguda Diagonal, one of the city’s main thoroughfares offering ‘best seats in the house’. Barcelona studio Cadaval & Sola-Morales are the whodunnits taking curtain calls for this theatrical thriller, which has seen the playhouse transformed into two individual work studios with lofty living space. “The project aims to recover and capitalise on the constructive values of the old theatre, expose its tectonic essences and exploit the amplitude that gives great height to its large diaphanous central space,” explained architect Eduardo Cadaval. The studios flank an indoor car parking space, allowing the owner to display a classic car ‘like a sculpture.’ “It’s a piece of art in direct relationship with the central space of the house,” he added.

Zero carbs JUMPING on the low-carbon bandwagon, this impressive home in Barcelona makes the best use of its space. Designed by local Right Size Architecture, the home’s sundrenched patio to the southeast creates a microclimate which gives constant warmth to the rooms. Named RA House, the property is divided into two ‘night’ and ‘day’ areas, with both parts connected

by a small hallway. Its sustainability factor is boosted by its wooden structure and frames and

airtightness (hence the small windows), which creates a low energy demand.

PROPERTY

Cabin fever AS locations go it doesn’t get much better. High in the hills above Ibiza’s sleepy village of Es Cubells, this extension of a millionaire’s palatial villa needed to fit into the landscape and create impact. The Cabana, as it is christened, acts as ‘a refuge for the owner and his guests looking for a more primordial experience’. Created by Atelier LAVIT, an architectural and design practice, based in Paris, the room faces south, overlooking a valley and the sea, while the roof and walls have been designed to give

the outdoor spaces 24/7 shade. Meanwhile, the carefully stacked wooden screens on top of the hut guarantee the privacy of its occupants, as well as sheltering them from the sun and wind. Inside, the design is simple, with the bathroom and dressing room separated from the bedroom. The project was largely prefabricated in a wood workshop in the south of France before being shipped onto the island. All the parts were numbered, dismantled and rebuilt on site within just three weeks.

VII

December 2019

Back to basics Spanish architect Jesus Perales really went au natural with Casa Almudena in the north of Spain. Showing off the construction’s lines and structure, the bricks also enhance its look. Created for a family in Catalunya, who love to spend as much time together as possible, the home is designed around a series of continuous paths which cross each other via a central axis in the form of a glazed indoor courtyard. “The shape allows a house with circularity and links the different parts of the living,’ explains Perales.“It doesn’t matter if you are cooking dinner while the kids are doing homework: you always have the feeling of being with your family.” The home, which additionally shows off its exposed concrete beams, sits near the village of Banyeres del Penedes among the region’s famous vineyards. It also opts for large windows which allows for heaps of natural light.

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An Olive Press Special pullout

hristmas in

Gibraltar

Christmas bonanza

Picture by Geoff Scott Simpson

Enjoy Xmas on the Rock with a festive walk through town, writes John Culatto

THERE is a festive charm in the air at the moment on the Rock of Gibraltar. It all starts the moment you walk into this unique outcrop of Britishness and start seeing the familiar signs. The red telephone boxes and postboxes are everywhere and Bobbies are on the beat too.

But this time around, you can feel the magic of Christmas take you to a happier place. Thanks to an amazing partnership between the government and local companies Gibraltar is livelier than ever this December. It all starts in Ocean Village, just across

Continues on Page 24

Rock solid The Fit 4 Life Clinic is situated just off the centre of the Main Street in Gibraltar at 25, City Mill Lane. The modern rooms are furnished with all the latest equipment and are designed for total comfort and feeling of well being, promoting a relaxed and welcoming environment, with its friendly staff providing the best customer care. The first of its kind in Gibraltar to integrate conventional medicine with holistic therapies under one roof it leads the way in weight loss and nutrition becoming the most advanced slimming clinic in Gibraltar. It aims to delay the aging process by focusing on preventative medicine offering a better quality of life for longer. The Centre promises to deliver excellence in every field with its team of highly skilled professionals by collaborating and networking with various clinics and hospitals in Spain to be able to offer the best quality health care for its patients. Our services include: PODIATRY INJURY PREVENTION AND REHABILITATION COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES HOLISTIC MASSAGE EMOTIONAL WELLBEING DIETETIC SERVICES DNA TESTING GENETIC TESTING FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE RECONSTRUCTIVE AND AESTETIC PLASTIC SURGERY BEAUTY LASER HAIR REMOVAL ANTI AGING TREATMENTS www.fit4life.gi / 0035020040563 Opening Times: 8.30am-800pm Monday to Friday

From Page 23

the frontier where the electric blue lights shine and music plays all day into the evening. Even the hardest hearts are softened by the Christmas carols and festive hits emitted from hidden speakers in the evenings. It is the perfect atmosphere for a walk around Ocean Village as you explore the bars and restaurants, in this amazing getaway from the real world. Floating over water amongst the boats are some great hang outs like The Yard, which offers up great pub fare with a view across the Marina. Then step aboard one of the only floating five star hotels in Europe. The Sunborn reflects the festive fun, with the casino a big hit for

entertainment and its bars, the perfect place to grab a cocktail. And when you want to just chill, there’s The Sunborn’s sky restaurant five stories up with a beautiful view of the winter bonanza. From Ocean Village you can walk across the road to the historic Casemates Square where the spirit of Father Christmas prevails. It might be hard to imagine what it was like back in the day when this was one of the key bays in the Roman Empire. This key fishing port in one of the far reaches of Roman influence is still a catchment area for people today. With the ruins in the middle of it reflecting this history, it now has a busy, bustling vibe. The square’s fish and chip shops are a must, but there is more adventurous cuisine just around the corner, all within easy walk-

ll about

hristmas in

Gibraltar

25 November 20th - December 3rd 2019

SpanishBritish Christmas

THE staff at Eroski Gibraltar are gearing up for Christmas and celebrating the supermarket’s seventh year on the Rock.

ing distance. Then, for a spot of Christmas shopping follow cobblestoned Main Street to electronics shop

Kaycee, where you can pick up everything from TVs and PA systems to toasters, kettles and cameras.

The locally-owned retailer is pulling out all the stops this year, as it stocks ‘the best of both worlds’ from Spain and the UK. Waitrose mince pies and Christmas puddings are among the British festive favourites being stocked, while from across the frontier there is turron, polvorones, jamon serrano and more. And just in time for Christmas, Gibraltar will welcome its third Eroski store, which opens at Midtown on December 18. This new venture will be an Eroski City branch, like the one off Main Street. Eroski is used to expanding, having already extended its Winston Churchill Avenue store on three occasions. Eroski’s competitive prices, which are matched against British and Spanish supermarkets, ensure that its customers keep coming back again and again. Gibraltar’s supermarket of choice will continue going from strength to strength in 2020, so get down there soon to visit its friendly team. Its Winston Churchill Avenue store is open from 8am-10pm seven days a week. The Main Street branch is open from 8am-9pm Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 9pm on Sundays.

A From Page 25

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This historic shop has been a feature of Main Street life for many years and you will not believe the range of domestic appliances and gadgetry it has in stock. With the Christmas lights coming on around 6pm, new colours are cast on the colonial architecture, mixed with Mediterranean balconies and shutters. The street is a far cry from what it was before, smartened and beautified, with help from the government. A gentle slope takes you to the Piazza, the heart of town where

hristmas in

Gibraltar

Parliament is located. Maleras is only a short walk to the central Catholic cathedral where you will find some breathtaking creations which make great Christmas gifts. Track back to the Piazza and go uphill on to City Mill Lane, all decorated in sparkling lights to remind you of this traditional season. At the corner you will see Fit 4 Life, a great stop for a selection of osteopathic and massages that will treat all your aches and

Win for gin The Yard in Ocean Village Gibraltar is gearing up for a busy Christmas with the launch of its exclusive 12 Gins of Christmas range, featuring twelve unique flavours ranging from Candy Cane to Christmas Pudding! With more than 150 Gins on offer you are sure to find one you like – if you find yourself stuck choosing one, why not try one of their new Gin Flight boards which contain four Gins of your choice? If Gin isn’t your thing, they also offer a range or specially imported Craft Beers, including Brewdog Punk IPA on tap, plus a selection of cocktails. Set in the heart of Ocean Village and open 7 days a week from 9am to late, The Yard has quickly become the place to visit in Gibraltar for a drink or meal with friends in a unique relaxed environment.

pains. Finally, walk back out of Gibraltar via the quaint, narrow Irish Town, also well decorated for the season. Here you will be able to buy fashionable sports clothing at In Motion or even handy British made tools at the BIA. All in all, expect more from the Rock this Christmas, so don’t hesitate to visit at the earliest opportunity for great products at duty-free prices!

PROPERTY

December 2019

Speaky blinder! Genius design of Malaga nightclub pays homage to 20th century speakeasies or shabeens

FROM the outside it appears to be your run-ofthe-mill fast food joint. But much like the speakeasies of 1920s New York, or shabeens of 1980s Notting Hill, the Pastrami Club in Malaga is hiding a whole lot more in the back. Designed by local studio Paco Lago, the new look has been designed around the concept of ‘surprise’. Real patrons will know that the ‘actual’ Pastrami bar can now be accessed via the men’s bathroom door, located at the back of the shop.Stepping inside+ reveals a world of neon lights beaming off shiny marble countertops in an outrageously retro design that will have instagrammers going cuckoo. As Designboom explains: “For the interior of the club, Paco Lago has focused on how the entire space is lit to create a vibrant and almost retro atmosphere. “To achieve this, neon lighting has been integrated into a coffered ceiling, which extends down to the bar area, creating a curved wall effect. “These lights change colour and intensity, altering the mood and bringing a dynamic rhythm to the space, perfectly befitting the nightclub feeling of the club. “Overall, the design intends to spark guests’ curiosity. From the upside down entrance of the men’s bathroom, to the lounge and its unique play of lights, to when you enter through the VIP access and think that you have entered hell. In short, the Pastrami Club is a place full of surprises.”

PROPERTY

MORTGAGE THINK TANK

XIII

December 2019

by mortgage broker Tancrede de Pola

New horizons ITS been a tumultuous time for our British clients in Spain this year and it hasn’t been much easier for the banks. Lenders have erred on the side of caution over the British parliament’s failure to resolve the Brexit crisis. This led to some banks pulling out of their 70% LTV deals in a bid to avoid the risks around Brexit-influenced fluctuations in the exchange rate. We saw Brits who were significantly affected by the pound plummeting to historic lows and thus feeling like they were paying more for their mortgage each month. Adding to the market reaction to the Brexit crisis was Spain’s new mortgage law, enacted in June.

Tancrede de Pola looks ahead to brighter days after a tricky 2019 for mortgages Article 20 of the Real Estate Credit Act (Ley de Crédito Inmobiliario) obligates banks to operate with greater transparency. However, the new law also has made it more difficult for British buyers not in the Eurozone, especially those who are paid in a currency other than the Euro. But as the new year beckons, there are some positive changes to mortgages in store. For one, Banco Santander is ‘going green’, offering a new mortgage in partnership with Green Building Council Spain (GBCe). For borrowers this means a discount of 10 basis points

on base rates for homes deemed ‘sustainable’ or with an energy rating of ‘A, A +’. It comes after the Spanish giant lowered the price of its mortgages along with BBVA, Bankia, ING and Kutxabank in November, amid an intensifying price war leading up to Christmas.

The Finance Bureau has more than 15 years’ experience in finding expats the best deal possible and making sure they’re avoiding the many pitfalls associated with buying abroad. When it comes to buying a mortgage, getting it wrong is not an option.

To contact Tancrede for all your mortgaging needs call: 666 709 743 or for insurance queries call: 951 203 540 Email: tdp@thefinanacebureau.com The Finance Bureau Centro Commercial Guadalmina, 2nOffice No. 7 Guadalmina, 29670

PROPERTY

XIV

December 2019

You will NET believe it! How a shapeshifting home with see-through floors is putting family first in Spain

AUTHENTIC: Ronda Romantica is getting great reviews

Calling all romantics!

You can really feel the weight of history at Ronda Romantica apartments. The most exciting new place to stay in Ronda this year was once the historic home of Pedro Romero, who constructed the town’s stunning bullring. Beautifully converted, it retains many of its original features including vaulted ceilings, ancient doors and rejas, while also being the very definition of luxury. “It was a delight to work with such a charming historic building and to have converted it to a high standard of luxury,” said designer Gabriella Chidgey. And, as a special offer for Olive Press readers this winter, anyone booking to stay at Ronda Romantica for two nights, can have a third night completely FREE. Contact gabschidgey@gmail.com or call 654152122 to reserve your stay.

FUN home design that shifts its shape and allows the owners to virtually float on air is answering the needs of family life in eastern Spain. The REI House by CRUX Arquitectos was inspired by the way spaces in a home transform throughout the day and night and provides infinite solutions with its flexible and interactive interior. The property consists of three naves – a central nave to host the day’s main activities, including eating and relaxing and two either side which can be compartmentalised with railings, cur-

tains or partitions into different spaces that extend outdoors. Having a party? Open it all up to the terrace. Need extra bedrooms for the kids’ sleepovers? No problema. And they’ll all want to sleep here because the piece de resistance of this funky family home is its invisible second level, covered with netting where the floor should be. This unique feature allows light to flood the first level. And that’s not the best bit. It can also be

used by the by kids for noisy pillow fights and by adults to unwind with

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PROPERTY

December 2019

Barca bound?

As the French dominate property sales in Spain’s north-east region, we explore its je ne sais quoi

THE numbers are in for the first half of this year and there’s no prizes for guessing where in Spain British buyers are continuing to invest. But while the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol remain huge markets for UK investment, Catalunya continues to be snubbed. Up in Spain’s north-east corner, the French make up around 45% of the foreign market, followed by the Germans on 6%.

Barca Palace, €14 million If money really is no object, then this palace on the outskirts of Barcelona could be for you. Covering 1,345sqm, the property is spread over three floors and features a huge hall and an elegant central stairway which provides access to each storey. It comes complete with seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, a swimming pool, squash court and several terraces.

From Barcelona to the Costa Brava, there’s property aplenty, no matter if you’re a beachgoer or city dweller. Maybe it’s just too cold for the sun-loving Brits, or maybe they just haven’t considered the region for a second home before. Well here are some of the hottest properties in the region (all available on luxuryestate.com) to help inspire them to think about going north.

Barcelona apartment, €520,000 This quirky apartment sits in a historic building in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter. Dating back to 1459, the two-bedroom, one-bathroom home is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. It is also just a one minute walk from the Ramblas and five minutes from the Plaza Catalunya and the Gothic Cathedral. The apartment is on the second floor and the building has a lift.

Girona gem, €1.8 million Situated on a quiet edge of the PGA Catalunya Resort, L’Olivera 9 offers sensational views over hole 12 of the Tour Course, the lake and surrounding countryside. Designed by Barcelona-based architect Jaime Prous, this stunning villa maximises volume and light. The south-west-facing property is spread over two floors, with two double bedrooms on the ground floor and two with ensuite bathrooms on the first floor - complete with private terrace. The exterior features a large terrace with pergola, a barbecue area, and a beautifully landscaped garden with infinity pool.

Sitges flat, €420,000 For a more reasonable price, you can have this modern seafront apartment in the beach resort of Sitges. And you will hardly be bothered by trashy tourists, with the local area here welcoming the higher quality clientele with more to spend. This apartment is really a steal for its location, complete with two double bedrooms, one en-suite and with access to a private patio.

Barcelona Penthouse, € 1.6 million If a penthouse is more your style, this central dwelling will blow you away. The 120m2 attic features two private terraces measuring 60m2 and 50m2. The enviable home sits on Via Laietana on the top floor of a period building and has just been renovated. Coming complete with two double bedrooms, both with ensuites, there is also a mini chapel which was uncovered during its construction and which has been preserved as a relaxing area.

PROPERTY

XVI

December 2019

The Property Insider le by Adam Nea

Landing a bill

Adam Neale discusses Plusvalia and how land is valued and taxed in Spain

HE Plusvalia tax is one that every property owner and new buyer should become familiar with. First of all, this tax is levied on any increase in the value of the land your property stands on when it is sold to a new owner. It is important to note that the tax is only applied to the value of the land, and not to the property on it. Furthermore, it only affects dwellings that are classified as urban, not those defined as ‘rural’. Each municipality is responsible for collecting this tax, although some of them may delegate its collection to the Provincial Revenue Board of Malaga. Either way, the tax must be paid within 30 days of the property being transferred to the new owner. In the case of a property sale, the seller must pay the tax. If the property is left as an inheritance, then the person receiving the property is responsible for paying the tax. The Plusvalia tax is calculated by multiplying the tax base by the tax rate: a) The tax base is the increase in value that the property has experienced

during the time it has been owned by the seller. This increase is calculated by multiplying the cadastral value of the property at the time of its sale by the annual rate set by each municipal council (with the maximum limit established by law). The calculation is based on

owe on Plusvalia by visiting the relevant council’s web page. There you will find a handy tool to calculate it, but please be aware that this is only an estimate and not necessarily the exact final sum. If the seller is not a resident in Spain, the buyer’s lawyer will normally insist on withholding funds to pay the Plusvalia on the seller’s behalf to prevent the possibility of the buyer becoming liable for Plusvalia in the event of non-payment. What happens if the property sale price is lower than the purchase price? This situation often occurred during the recession when property prices fell. However, fiscal laws decree that there should be an assumption there is always some increase in value. In the next article we will look at the legal changes that have taken place since then to make the system fairer. In practice though it remains problematic for non residents to get their money back.

whole years, not on fractions of years. b) The tax rate is the tariff set by the municipal council, and there is a 30% limit established by law. There are, however, some variations depending on how long an individual has owned the property. It is possible to estimate what you will

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December 4th - December 17th 2019

BUSINESS

Managing your money It’s tougher saving than spending but you’ll be investing in your future, writes Jonathan Holdaway

O you’ve started budgeting your Having money in a savings account will help money, you’re building credit and you cover the little things, like your emeryou’re spending less than you earn. gency fund or a new computer. But your Now comes the tricky part: saving real, long-term savings are going toward for the future which, for a lot of people, can something far more important: retirement. be even more daunting. One day you’ll want to stop working, and Far too many people find excuses to put you’ll need a big chunk of savings to keep this off, perhaps because it seems too far you going in your golden years. A modest away to matter, or it feels impossible and savings account isn’t the best way to do overwhelming. However, the consequen- this, and this is where more sophisticated ces of not paying attention to this from an and structured investments will come in to early stage can be far-reaching. play. The earlier you start saving, If you can allocate a portion of the better off you’ll be later on savings into some fairly simin life. Not only that, you’ll also You’ll need a big ple, low-risk investments, it spend less effort trying to get make money for you while chunk of savings will there later. you sleep. Over the course of Remember those sections in to keep you going years and decades, that can your budget discussed last up to an awful lot. in your golden add issue called Savings and InLong-term investments can vestments? come in part from your emyears Start trying to make sure ployer. Many companies offer you’re adding to these as a pension plans that you can matter of habit. If your employer uses di- fund with money deducted from your pay rect deposit and your monthly salary goes before taxes. In some cases, employers will directly to your bank account (which tends also match some, or all, of what you conto be the case for most of us), you can ask tribute which means you’re literally getting for different portions of your pay to be sent free money just for having an investment to multiple accounts. You can use these to account with them. send money to a separate savings account Company pensions are by no means riskthat you don’t have a debit card for, or that’s free however, and the rapidly increasing not easy to transfer to your current account. pensions deficit in countries like the US, UK, Note - the money you never have access to France and Germany unfortunately means is the easiest to save. many final salary schemes are no longer

available to new employees. This means more and more people are turning to private pension schemes to help fund their retirement. Investing doesn’t have to be complicated, either - it doesn’t mean picking winning stocks or timing the market. If you’re just starting out and don’t yet have the knowledge or market understanding, you can even use an online service to do it all automatically for you. These can guide you through the process of setting up an investment plan based on your age, goals and risk preferences and will then automatically pick which companies or industries to invest in. If you prefer a more personal touch when discussing financial priorities, then you are best consulting a professional advisor, who should be able to find the investment product that is best suited to your specific needs. But be sure to do your research carefully. Ensure the firm advising you is fully licensed and legally able to operate wherever you might be living. Holding the correct regulatory license – MiFID is best, particularly post-Brexit - not only means a company can provide truly unbiased advice and should have access to a much wider range of products and providers; but also that they will outline their fees and other char-

ges before you part with a penny. More importantly, by working with a properly licensed advisory firm you have the additional peace of mind that they can be held accountable for their initial advice and any ongoing services they provide. Getting started with long-term investments will often be one of the hardest parts of your financial life because, when you’re just starting out, you don’t have much money. It is important that you re-examine your investments every time you get a raise or a new job that pays you more. When you make more money, it will of course be tempting to upgrade your life with a new car or apartment to match your new budget. This is known as ‘Lifestyle Inflation’, and while it’s okay to move up, the smartest among us will make investment priority number one, reaching financial independence that little bit sooner. Please note, the above does not constitute specific advice or recommendations for your own circumstances and is intended as a guide only. Always seek professional assistance where required. For a free no obligation review please contact me either by email or phone.

Jonathan now has an office Malaga, which can be found here: Alameda Colón, 9, 1, 7. 29001 Málaga, Spain. Phone: +34 951 579226

Contact me for a no obligation investment product and/or portfolio review and at my expense on +34 654 898 303/+44 77230 27864 or email me at jonathan.holdaway@chasebuchanan.com I’ll even buy the coffee.

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BUSINESS

Boost for Barca SPECIALIST British student accommodation provider Vita Student has chosen Spain for its first foray into the international market. The London-based company is set to spend €30 million on building a new halls of residence in Barcelona’s Pija area. The City Council has given the green light for the firm to transform a 7,000 square metre old educational building into a block of 320 apartments. For €1,000 a month, students at the ultra-modern accommodation will also have access to an on-site pool and gym. The business, which was set up in 2013 by Manchester-born Mark Scott, already has 20 housing blocks in cities across the UK, including Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. Vita Student offers students and teaching staff access to personal growth experts and mentoring sessions with owners of large companies to boost their employability. “We are specialists in giving our residents an experience of education and personal growth,” said Ken Knott, director at Vita Students.

December 4th - December 17th 2019

Adios to Spanish rail French and Italian train companies snap up contracts to run cheaper and more regular services between major Spanish cities from December 2020 SPANISH rail officials have snubbed homegrown firms and awarded French and Italian businesses contracts to run services on Spain’s highspeed train network from December next year. Adif, Spain’s railway infrastructure manager, dished out contracts to France’s public railway company SNCF and Italy’s Trenitalia. Spain’s public train company RENFE kept its contract for the busiest route, which will see it operating 48 trains a day. But other Spanish compa-

Clicking online

nies which were hoping for a slice of the mainland’s railway network walked away empty handed. The Motion Rail Consortium which is made up of two Spanish firms, Talgo and Globalia as well as private equity providers Trilantic Europe and Andalucian Eco Rail failed in their bids to run train services. As part of its contract Renfe will launch a low cost highspeed train between Madrid and Barcelona from April next year, with tickets available to purchase from Janu-

ary. Trains between Spain’s two main cities currently cost €52 on average. The new low-cost service will offer discounts of 40%. Spanish train bosses say the entry of new operators into the train network will add 66 extra journeys a day across the railway network. There will be 61 trains between Madrid, Cordoba, Malaga and Sevilla, a 75% increase from the current 35. There will also be cheaper tickets on both the Madrid to Barcelona line and Sevilla

SPANISH consumers spent 40% more on online purchases last year than in 2017. The average yearly online spending increased to €1,920 in 2018, with buyers making 50 purchases throughout the year. Almost three quarters of internet users are online shoppers. And they splashed a whopping €41.5 million on e-shopping last year, an increase of €10.2 million and 24% more than in 2017. Gen X and Millennials (aged 35-54) made the most purchases, ordering 45% of all items bought online. Almost three quarters of holiday accommodation and package holidays were booked online. A further 68% of travel tickets were bought over the internet.

to Valencia connection. Renfe, SNCF and Trenitalia emerged as winners because they were the only three firms bidding on the lines who already owned their own highspeed trains. The other competitors would have had to rent or buy their trains, making it difficult to operate them with sufficient frequency.

Divide and conquer SPAIN’S Telefonica has announced an ambitious assets reshuffle in a bid to find an extra €2 billion a year by 2022. The struggling telecoms giant said an ‘operational spin-off’ of its South American business would allow it to focus on the key markets of Spain, the UK, Brazil and Germany. After seeing its value plunge 9% earlier this year, the company is relying on its new Telefonica Tech branch, which deals with computing and cybersecurity, to bring in the required cash.

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FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

December 4th - December 17th 2019

Buttie ban A SIX-MONTH chorizo ban at Spain’s biggest carmaker has dramatically cut employees’ cardiovascular health risks. Some 600 workers were used as guinea pigs in a study that forced staff to ditch mortadella and sausage sandwiches for healthier alternatives. In a clampdown on company canteens, staff swapped the highly processed meats for whole grain sandwiches with hummus, sardines or avocado. The initial health ban was then extended to incorporate physical exercise and emotional support. Hospital Clinic de Barcelona and conducted the research, which began in April 2018. A total of 300 staff at Seat’s Zona Franca de Barcelona factory and a further 300 at its El Prat site were medically examined before and after the study.

Spain’s biggest car firm swaps sausage sandwiches for sardines

El Prat staff were offered health advice, while researchers trialled several health programmes with the Barcelona group. Each participant was given five litres of virgin olive oil a month and 30 grams of nuts a day, in a bid to encourage

them to follow the Mediterranean diet. Workers were also supplied with vouchers for healthy supermarket produce and had seasonal menus drafted for them. The outcome was a huge decrease in triglycerides, the main component of body fat, while Seat employees’ ‘weight A ‘BREXIT porter’ is now available for beer-loving and waists’ also British expats in Spain thanks to a pub in Andalucia. shrunk. Bar Allioli in Jimera de Libar is the exclusive Span- “This study has an ish stockists of the dark Dutch beer, titled ‘Don't achieved impact at the Leave Me This Way’. level Made from four types of malt, the 7% beer from metabolic Brouwerij Hommeles, is described as ‘hoppy’ and through the Mediterranean diet,” ‘robust’. The drink, which typically retails at €3, was released said IrsiCaixa diwith a vintage-style poster, featuring UK Prime rector, BonavenMinister Boris Johnson carrying the bags of ‘Miss tura Clotet. Europe’ onto a Brussels-bound train.

Political tipple

Wine into water? SPAIN’S designated drivers will be jumping for joy this Christmas as a new invention that lowers the alcohol content of wine by 30% has been unveiled. The machine is the brainchild of El Bulli-trained chemist Pere Castells, and can turn a 14% alcohol bottle into an 8% bottle in just five minutes – without compromising on taste. Bars and restaurants are the main market for the first 1,000 units of the €3,000 machine, which Castells eventually intends to sell to the public. The inventor, who worked with El Bulli owner Ferran Adria for 10 years, unveiled his contraption at the BBVA Bilbao Food Capital event.

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

December 4th - December 17th 2019

New year’s resolution Junta launches €30 million tourism plan in bid to keep Brits keen on Costa del Sol in 2020 AS the UK squabbles over the EU, the Junta de Andalucia has launched an ambitious post-Brexit tourism plan. The Junta’s €29.7 million 2020 Action Plan intends to promote the region’s tourist credentials to Britain and 49 other countries. A total of 720 promotional measures have been pledged in the plan, presented by

the Minister of Tourism, Juan Marin. These include €1 million that has been set aside to specifically target the British market in a bid to safeguard Andalucia against a potential no-deal Brexit. There is more of a cultural tourism focus under this plan, which includes a new initiative to promote flamenco. The Junta also has its sights set on the US and

Asia, with both markets ‘growing a lot,’ according to Marin. “It opens up great opportunities for investment and employment not only in the tourism sector, but in other tourist areas,” the politician added. This announcement comes in the same year as it emerged Andalucia enjoyed

its most successful summer evr, despite the threat of Brexit. Spain’s southernmost region had more than 26 million overnight hotel stays between June and September. Furthermore, some 2.37 million Brits arrived at Malaga Airport between January and September, a 2.5% year-on-year increase.

Bun for all

Andalucian country pub goes animal crackers with its menagerie meat menu

HAVE you ever heard of burgers made from crocodile, zebra and kangaroo? You have now thanks to Bar Allioli, a hillside restaurant near Jimera de Libar station, dedicated to the holy trinity of burgers, live music and beer. Run by British expat Paul, this burger joint is like no other, with other dishes featuring unusual meats like buffalo, llama, ostrich, camel and rabbit. The burgers are inspired by flavour combinations from across the globe, including India, Jamaica and of course Spain. And just in time for Christmas, the lengthy 30 burger menu will be joined by three more: the Pakistani, the Romanian and the New Zealander. For less adventurous types, chicken, beef, pork and lamb are also on the menu, while there is even a locally sourced wild boar burger infused with Andalucia’s own Pedro Ximenez sherry. And to wash it all down? A collection of more than 100 beers, including classic Belgian blondes and newer craft brews. From November 30, Bar Allioli has live music every weekend from some of the hottest local bands. For more information visit Bar Allioli on Facebook or call 606 69 27 53

December 4th - December 17th 2019

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HEALTH Live long and DON’T 44

December 4th - December 17th 2019

prosper

Office wizard The Olive Press is looking for a sorcerer to weave some magic in its head office as we expand yet again. You’ll be an energetic resourceful individual, to become the glue in the young and rapidly expanding team. Personable and bi-lingual you will have a good phone manner, be sociable and naturally computer literate.

Distributor The Olive Press is looking for a magician to distribute our amazing newspapers in Gibraltar. You’ll be an energetic, resourceful individual, with a sound knowledge of how to get around Gibraltar or at least a smart phone and some physical strength. At this point we are looking for a Spanish or UK citizen once every other Wednesday. If you think you have what it takes to help the Olive Press expand to its next level please get in touch at accounts@theolivepress.es at the first instance, sending your CV and a covering letter. These jobs could be part time or full time and will suit either man or woman of any age or colour or background.

Spain may rival Japan for life expectancy, but its retirees are among the most depressed in the EU SPANIARDS live longer but more unhealthy lives than their European neighbours, experts have found. The ‘State of Health’ report presented at the EU, is only the second of its kind to be carried out, after the first in 2017. Spain comes out top for life expectancy, with an average of 83.4 years, putting the country behind only Japan globally. This is almost three years longer than the rest of the EU, which has an average life expectancy of 80.9. Part of the explanation lies in the ex-

traordinary average life expectancy of 86 years for Spanish women, while for men it is just 80.4. Yet despite the seemingly positive news for Spain, the country has a poor record for the health of over-65s. In this age group, 21% have trouble washing or dressing, while 40% have symptoms of depression, compared to the EU averages of 18% and 29% respectively. Spaniards are also currently grappling with higher childhood obesity rates, increased numbers of women smoking and a lack of facilities to train new doctors. An estimated one third of the deaths in Spain are caused by preventable risks like food, tobacco and alcohol. The 67,000 Spaniards A NEW report has revealed that 18 million overwho die a year from weight and obese Spaniards add a hefty 20% onto smoking is slightly less the national health bill. than the EU average, A huge €2.8 billion is spent on battling the conhowever Spain’s 32,000 ditions, which amount to 7% of the Government’s alcohol-related deaths total annual budget. are slightly above averIn Spain 39.3% of 25-64-year-olds are overweight, age. with obesity rates at 21.6%. Furthermore 20% of That is compared to the UK, where 35.6% of adults Spanish teenagers are are overweight and 28.7% are obese. The latest overweight or obese, statistics for Spain were published in the report higher than the Euro‘Approach to obesity and bariatric surgery’. pean average of 17%.

Big price to pay

Helping hand Optical chain joins the campaign to collect food for those in need Specsavers Ópticas Marbella and Fuengirola have launched a campaign to collect non-perishable food for those in need on the Costa del Sol. It has joined the Operación Kilo Campaign, thanks to a collaboration with the Costa del Sol’s Food Bank (Bancosol). Bancosol distributes food via charities and associations to help the most vulnerable people in society and is currently supplying food to 1.5 million people. Specsavers Ópticas will be collecting food for them until the end of the year. Bancosol are particularly in need of the following non-perishable foods – oil, milk, tinned foods and meals, beans and pulses. These products can be dropped into Specsavers Ópticas in Fuengirola or Marbella. You can find them on Avenida Ramon y Cajal 6 in Fuengirola, by the bus station, or on Avenida Ricardo Soriano 12, next to Massimo Dutti. Donations are very welcome in both stores until the end of the year. Visit www.specsavers.es to find your nearest store. The directors of these opticians are asking for donations of food in return for their free eye test and encouraging anyone who recently had a free eye test to also join the collection and bring in some food to donate between the 27th of November and the end of the year. Find out more about the important work Bancosol is doing on their website www.bancosol. info or follow them on Facebook @bancosolmalaga

To find out more or book your next appointment head to your nearest Specsavers Opticas store or visit www.specsavers.es

December 4th - December 17th 2019

In a new monthly column on the trials of learning Spanish, Charlie Smith (a French speaker from ‘up north’) makes a lasting impression on his first profesora

COLUMNISTS Lost for words

My language-learning First there was the bus journey didn’t start in ticket office to negotiate Spain but some 1,200 – handing over euros miles away in the rain-batwith pleading eyes only tered classrooms of Rochgets you so far. Then dale and Oldham. there was the grumpy For some reason, pupils driver, later on Mercaat my secondary school dona, later still the real(think Grange Hill on stely exciting bit: the Spanroids) were forced to take ish bar. German or French. So On the advice of a mate from Year 7 I was grapback home, I immedipling with the ‘language ately got stuck into the of love’ in a classroom where no love Coffee Break Spanish podcast. Its was lost - dodging flying chairs and 20-minute segments took me from stationary, ploughing through battered the two words I knew, hola and gratextbooks that doubled as goal posts cias (seriously), to hundreds of senfor football practice and dictionaries tences and potential conversations. I covered in the kind of graffiti that cre- also explored the apps Memrise and ated dividing lines between friends. Duolingo to varying levels of success By the time Spanish hit the school, but managed to pick up a lot over I had already scraped a C in GCSE several months. French and vowed never to I thought everything had learn a language again. finally clicked when I triumBut six years later, I walked phantly finished a phone Abuela out of Malaga Airport, having call (entirely in Spanish) neighbours booked a one-way ticket from with a cafe-owner who hurling Manchester to come and charged her customers for gazpacho at work for the Olive Press. And ice (Cent-imental, pg 40, Iseach other as I stood, sweating in a risue 326) - only to be asked diculous parka coat – which by our Andalucian graphI later realised you do need ic designer: “Why are you on the Costa del Sol – it was clear a speaking Mexican?” bit of Spanish would probably come in Nor was I getting anywhere with my handy. neighbours – three elderly Andalucian

women, one part-deaf, one extremely rude (though one of them seems nice). After trawling the web for local clases de español – some of which charge €40 an hour – I came across Millinguals in Estepona whose website offers Spanish classes and ‘an intensive Andalusian experience’. It immediately conjured up visions of my three abuela neighbours hurling gazpacho at each other. But the price was

Charlie Smith

good so, cold soup-slinging aside, off I went to meet Carola, potentially my new teacher. Let’s just say our first meeting could have gone better... I don’t know what ‘Oh my God I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I just accidentally caught the cable from your wireless router around my chair leg and pulled it off the wall and smashed it’ is in Spanish. Maybe she’ll tell me next time...

Gangsta’s Paradise After a British man was shot dead in his car, Giles Brown calls for an end to Marbella’s ceaseless gangland killings

LYING PRONE: Dead Brit was ‘executed’ in his Audi outside his home in La Cala de Mijas

ANOTHER week in Marbella, another gangland slaying. The latest was Peter Andrew Williamson, gunned down in a professional hit as he sat in his Audi outside his house. The killing came less than a week after a man described as ‘Arabic’ was shot and killed and another seriously wounded at their apartment, less than 15 minutes’ drive from the latest shooting. When you consider that 2019 also saw the murder of Puerto Banus personality Marco Yaquot, gunned down outside his villa in San Pedro, as well as the discovery of bodies close to the Istan Road as well as on the main A-7, you begin to get more than a little concerned about the direction that Marbella seems to be heading in. Police are looking at the killings as a ‘settling of scores’ between drug gangs. Those of a cynical disposition could argue that means the case is pretty much closed. There has been little in the way of leads in the Yaquot case, or the drug dealer machine gunned in his garage in Sierra Blanca the year before that, or the Spanish gym and beach bar owner who was shot by a gunman on the back of a motorcycle as he parked his car at his daughter’s communion. In the past two decades Marbella has changed beyond all recognition as the town has gained a reputation as party cen-

tral for both wannabe bad boys (and girls) and serious criminals. You only have to see the number of powerful luxury cars driven by guys who look like they are filming a rap video to get the sneaky suspicion that perhaps they didn’t all get their money from prudent saving schemes or a private equity venture. For better or worse, Puerto Banus seems to have embraced the ‘flash the cash’ culture, and the Port has seen the arrest of several wanted criminals on a bit of down time, seemingly thinking they are untouchable in Marbs. You could argue that Marbella has always been a sunny place for shady people, going all the way back to London crime figures Freddie Foreman and Charlie Wilson in the 80s. But these latest slayings seem to be something different altogether. While Marbella tries to entice the super wealthy with its gastronomy, climate and lifestyle, and the police are seemingly stretched in keeping tabs on the drug smuggling free for all that is the Campo de Gibraltar, perhaps a settling of scores doesn’t rate very highly. But if the ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ attitude continues, where ‘what happens in Marbs, stays in Marbs’ can include disappearances and killings, then Marbella needs to take a long, hard look at the problem before it spirals any further out of control.

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

Across: 1 Images, 5 Sickly, 8 Florida, 9 Afar, 10 Bomb, 11 Regulate, 12 Tore, 13 Fee, 14 TASS, 16 Bacteria, 20 Iran, 21 Soon, 22 Illegal, 23 Statue, 24 Shrewd. Down: 2 Mafioso, 3 Goodbye, 4 Skier, 5 Spangle, 6 Crawl, 7 Least, 13 Fertile, 14 Trigger, 15 Swallow, 17 Adopt, 18 Tenet, 19 Atlas.

SUDOKU

Nadal’s Spain overturn Great Britain and Canada to clinch sixth Davis Cup title in Madrid

SPORT

TWO of Spain’s sporting heroes, Rafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut, have overturned Canada to win the Davis Cup on home soil. Around 12,500 tennis fans packed into Madrid’s Caja Magica arena to witness the country’s sixth title in the competition. Nadal’s emotional victory (right) over Denis Shapovalov, 6-3, 7-6, saw Spain clinch its first Davis Cup since 2011. The 33-year-old made it 2-0 against the Canadians, after Bautista Agut, 31, had put the Spaniards 1-0 up against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Bautista Agut’s 7-6 (3), 6-3

Get stuffed SPAIN’S returning football manager has slammed his predecessor after sacking him for ‘disloyalty’. After taking up Spain’s top footie job for a second time Luis Enrique said he ‘did not’ want Robert Moreno again as his number two.

December 4th - December 17th 2019

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victory in an hour and 49 minutes was made even more remarkable, given that his father had died three days earlier. "When you have this moment it is difficult to describe with words - so many feelings, so many emotions you have never felt," said Spain captain Sergi Bruguera. Enrique cited Moreno’s proposal to manage the national team until after Euro 2020, and then work as the new manager’s assistant. “I do not want anyone like that on my staff,” said Enrique, who confirmed he had ‘rejected’ Moreno’s ‘ambition’. Moreno took the helm temporarily in March, after Enrique’s daughter Xana became ill with bone cancer and then died in August.

He added: "Unbelievable. Imagine Roberto yesterday was at the funeral of his father, now he is here giving everything - the mentality, the spirit, giving everything for his team. "Rafa, he is out of this world, I don't know if he is an alien or what. Not one day we went to sleep before 3am this week." Spain progressed to the finals after knocking out a Great Britain side left without Andy Murray due to injury. Rafael Nadal and Feliciano Lopez beat Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-8) to set up a final against Canada, after the semifinal score had stood at 1-1. TheOlivePress-256x170-CAR-4.indd 1

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FINAL WORDS

RADICAL feminists staged a topless protest against a far-right march in Madrid, which was marking 44 years since the death of ex-dictator Francisco Franco.

Flash in the sky A BRITISH Airways flight to Gibraltar was forced to land in Malaga after the plane was struck by lightning.

Rotten apple THE only plane route connecting the USA to Andalucia will be stopped next year after a 11-year run.

www.theolivepress.es

Your expat

voice in Spain

Vol. 13 Issue 332 www.theolivepress.es December 4th - December 17th 2019

Fine mess SPAIN’S traffic regulator has come under fire after a motoring organisation claimed the country’s 90 km/h speed cameras are issuing ‘illegal’ fines. Automovilistas Europeos Asociados (AEA) slammed the national agency after unearthing laws that allow drivers to exceed the top speed limit by 20km/h when overtaking. Art. 51 of the law permits the rule-bending – however Spain’s Direccion General de Trafico (DGT) has not programmed its speed cam-

Spain’s traffic authority in hot water over thousands of ‘illegal’ speeding fines

eras accordingly. An AEA statement said cameras on motorways were wrongly fining ‘anyone’ travelling above the speed limit without acknowledging overtaking is permitted to 109km/h. There are 84 motorway speed cameras across Spain that have been included in

the statement as issuing the allegedly illegal fines. AEA said it was aware of sanctions being imposed on any driver exceeding 90km/h on the N-122 in Zamora, in Castilla y León. The group affirmed the same for speed cameras in León, Guadalajara and Albacete. They added the most active

White Christmas for Marbs

MARBELLA has got itself a white Christmas - at last - thanks to the installation of a unique ‘ski lodge’. Iconic restaurant La Sala has built the lodge outside its restaurant for anyone who wants to get into the festive snow and skiing mood. The ‘ultimate alpine ski experience’ is the perfect way to kick back with a hot chocolate or mulled wine. La Sala’s two-course Christmas Party menu is available for just €19.95, with an upgrade to a glass of Cava and half a bottle of house wine for €29.95.

Soy Boris

AS Boris Johnson talks tough on terrorism and attacks Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn, he has been embarrassed by a Spanish comedian. The Conservative leader was impersonated by Spanish star Joaquin Reyes, 45, whose previous characters have included Donald Trump and General Franco. Speaking as Johnson he said: “Europe, you are going to shit, because when we leave I will reinforce the borders, I will throw all the Europeans out, and I’m going to close the airspace so that Mary Poppins won’t be able to fly.”

Migrant spotting and potentially offending camera – at KM49.2 on the AP-6 in Madrid – caught 22,551 drivers in the first half of 2019 alone. The DGT insisted it was ‘not aware’ of the irregularity but it will investigate ‘in the next few days’. Speeding in Spain can result in a fine from €100500, withdrawal of 2-6 points from your license, withdrawal of your driving license and even prison sentences – depending on how fast the driver is going.

BRITISH tourists were left shocked after having to rescue migrants during a dolphin cruise. Gavin Rodgers, 54, and wife Bernadette, 53, were among the passengers of the €60 boat trip in Gran Canaria. The holidaymakers came to the aid of 20 men, women and children in a rickety wooden vessel. London-based photographer Gavin said: “Thankfully we were able to play our part in getting them to safety. “Some people were cruelly moaning they had seen more migrants than dolphins.”