Mayor of Marbella to appear in court

THE mayor of Marbella is to appear in front of a judge accused of fraud.

Ángeles Muñoz, Marbella’s mayor, is set to appear in front of a judge on Wednesday September 10 charged with fraud and the perversion of the course of justice after a quarrel she had with a Lebanese businessman over the withdrawal of business concessions.

Reda Alaywan, the businessman in question, has sued Marbella Town Hall for €20 million over the allocation of a concession to construct a leisure park over three urban smallholdings in 2001.

The entrepreneur has also raised the issue that a heliport was built on the plot which, according to him, is his property.

Council spokesman Félix Romero has said that Alaywan’s claims are false, and that they will pull out all the stops to ensure that the property is returned to Marbella’s Council.

Speaking to the Diario Sur, Romero went on to say that there was nothing irregular in the mayor’s conduct and that the council will not shy away from attempting to recover its assets.

As well as Mayor Muñoz, lawyer Mario Ruiz, and the chief of municipal legal services, Enrique Sánchez, have also been accused of the same crimes.

Romero added that the Public Prosecutor has written a report recommending that the case be shelved, and the accusations be dismissed.

He concluded: “Whoever decides to use the courts system gratuitously should be made to pay out of their own pocket.”