Operation Malaya

Operation Malaya (Spanish: Operación Malaya) is the name given to an ongoing Spanish anti-corruption campaign in the southern resort town of Marbella. It began in 2006 and it is being carried out by the Policía Nacional under the direction of Judge Miguel Ángel Torres. The operation, now in its third phase, has the objective of exposing a network involved in concealing numerous illicit activities, (including bribery, embezzlement, and influence peddling) carried out by members of the Marbella City Council, businessmen, and prominent lawyers, among others. More than €2.4 billion has been seized so far. ^[1] On May 3, 2007, singer Isabel Pantoja was arrested for possible tax evasion and money laundering, which she allegedly did on behalf of the former mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz. He has already been jailed as part of the investigation, along with more than 100 others.^[1] Pantoja was later released on €90,000 bail.^[2]

Operation Malaya has opened the door to subsequent investigations into possible cases of urban corruption in Spain. There has already been consideration of what might be done to prevent similar webs of corruption in the future. It is widely acknowledged that the planning process in Spain could be improved to make the allocation of land for development more transparent. The background to the case is the high level of construction projects on the Costa del Sol in recent years.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Catán, Thomas (May 4, 2007). "Diva who sang her way to nation’s heart caught in corruption net" (in English). The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1744581.ece. 
2. ^ Eatwell, A (May 4, 2007). "Diva Pantoja out on bail as Marbella graft probe reaches ex-mayor's lover" (in English). El Pais and IHT. http://www.iht.com/pdfs/elpais/ep1.pdf.