Robbery
THREE armed men robbed a bank on the Costa del Sol fleeing with
around €200,000
yesterday morning.
Police confirmed that the incident took place just after 8am at the
Bankinter branch on Ricardo Soriano in the center of Marbella.
It is believed the robbers managed to grab the cash by making a hole
in the manager’s office.
Workers say the men were armed but no one was hurt during the robbery.
Corruption
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed yesterday to reform the
constitution to end judicial privileges enjoyed by politicians,
judges, royals and other top officials which can shield them from
corruption charges.
The Socialist prime minister said the measure was needed “to restore
people’s confidence in politics” in a country which has been rocked by
a string of corruption scandals in recent years.
Sanchez announced the measure which will make it easier for
politicians to be prosecuted at a event in Madrid marking 100 days
since he came to power.
Spain’s top officials benefit from a system of judicial privileges
meant to protect them from spurious attacks and which means they can
only be tried by Spain’s Supreme Court.
Spanish Rapper
A Belgian court has said it will not extradite a rapper who fled Spain
earlier this year after being convicted over his controversial lyrics.
Josep Miquel Arenas Beltrán, known as Valtònyc, was found guilty of
insulting the monarchy and glorifying terrorism.
Spain issued an EU arrest warrant after the rapper disappeared before
starting his three-and-a-half-year prison term.
But a judge in Ghent refused the extradition request yesterday
according to his defence team.
In a message on Twitter, Valtònyc thanked his fans and said: “History
is written by those who win, and we are still winning.”
It is not yet clear if Belgian prosecutors will appeal the decision.
Brexit
Britain and the European Union can reach a deal on Britain’s
withdrawal from the bloc if they preserve the integrity of the EU’s
single market, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said
yesterday.
In a tweet, after meeting the Spanish prime minister in Madrid,
Barnier said Spain had the EU’s full support in negotiating with
Britain on the status of Gibraltar after Britain leaves the EU in
March 2019.
Holiday Scam
SEVEN people are due to appear in a Palma court tomorrow in connection
with alleged fraudulent claims for holiday sickness compensation.
They include Laura Cameron and her brother and sister, founders of the
company KLM Ventures, which the Guardia Civil claims was the firm that
operated reps who encouraged false claims from British holidaymakers
in parts of Mallorca.
The accused were all arrested last year by the Guardia Civil and eight
addresses in Calvia and Palma were searched.
Cameron has previously told investigators and a court that she and
others were involved in collecting names and phone numbers of tourists
that were sold to marketing companies in the UK.
She said the information was not for any fraudulent use.