hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Sean Connery found not guilty in Marbella property scandal
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Sean Connery found not guilty in Marbella property scandal
Marbella - The former James Bond star, Sean Connery, has recently been cleared in a property scandal in Marbella in southern Spain. However his wife is still under investigation in the "Goldfinger case," as it has been dubbed by the media.
A court in Spain decided to shelve the case on Tuesday and dismissed all charges against Connery, saying there was no evidence that he had been involved in any illegal real estate dealings. The case has been going for quite a while in the court in Marbella, a popular and upmarket seaside town in southern Spain. It involves the illegal re-zoning of a seafront property on which Connery had a villa, which he sold in 1999. The property was then rezoned to pave the way for a luxury apartment development. The problem was that 72 apartments were subsequently built on the site, when the planning permission had only allowed for five. The high-profile case has seen 17 people investigated for fraud, bribery and tax crimes, including former Marbella mayor Julian Muñoz and Spanish singer Isabel Pantoja among others. However, the presiding judge has formally said that 83-year-old Connery "never appears in the case taking any decisions, nor does his signature appear in documents which could incriminate him". In a signed affidavit submitted to the magistrate, Connery had already denied links with the former Marbella mayors Julian Muñoz and Jesus Gil. However, there still remains a problem with Connery's wife, Micheline, who could possibly still face charges and remains under investigation. The judge, when giving his ruling, lamented the fact that the media had chosen to dub the trial the "Goldfinger case" after a 1964 James Bond film the actor starred in. He said that the name implied that only the Connerys were under investigation, "when nothing could be further from the truth". Spanish sources: El Mundo - February 2014 El Mundo - July 2013 El Pais
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Sean Connery found not guilty in Marbella property scandal