Bankrupt Banker

Trial begins in giant Spanish corruption scandal

top Spanish former official went on trial Monday at the start of legal proceedings into a raft of corruption scandals in which King Juan Carlos' son-in-law is also accused. Jaume Matas, the ex-head of the regional government of the Balearic islands who had also served as environment minister, appeared at a court in Palma de Majorca alongside three other suspects. They have been charged with embezzlement, fraud, falsifying documents and influence peddling. Matas was charged in March 2010 and was released after paying a record bail of 3.0 million euros ($3.8 million). Prosecutors are demanding an eight and a half years jail term. Matas served as president of the government of the Balearic Islands between 1996-1999 and then between 2003-2007. He was environment minister between 2000-2003. The so-called "Palma Arena affair" as the Spanish press has dubbed the corruption scandal centres on the suspected embezzlement of public funds during the construction of a velodrome in Palma de Majorca between 2005-2007. An investigation concluded that the cycling track had an unjustified cost overrun of 41 million euros. That led authorities on the archipelago to uncover other cases of suspected embezzlement of public funds, including one allegedly involving royal son-in-law Inaki Urdangarin. The 43-year-old ex-Olympic handball player is scheduled to appear in court on February 25 as part of a probe into corruption at a non-profit organisation, Instituto Noos, which he headed between 2004 and 2006. The probe centres notably on a payment of 2.3 million euros to Instituto Noos for organising a tourism and sports conference in 2005 and 2006. Urdangarin, who has the title Duke of Palma and is married to the king's youngest daughter, Princess Cristina, has denied any wrongdoing. Last month the royal family suspended the the duke from official engagements and the palace's highest official, Rafael Spottorno, gave an unprecedented rebuke, telling Spanish media his behaviour "does not seem exemplary".

Trial begins in giant Spanish corruption scandal

top Spanish former official went on trial Monday at the start of legal proceedings into a raft of corruption scandals in which King Juan C...

Spanish property an 'attractive investment' for Brits

The growing strength of the British pound against the Euro is to make the Spanish property market an interesting prospect, according to an expert. Mark Stucklin, head of Spanish Property Insight, explained that 2012 will be a "key year", meaning Brits will benefit from attractive offers "after some real years in the dumps". "Within Spanish property, you have to define what you are talking about. Is it the middle of nowhere property that was badly built in the boom or the nicest property of which there is scarce supply?" he said. "It is a completely different market. With the best property, I think we are now in [a period of] price stability and, with the euro getting cheaper compared to the pound, that will mean that it gets more interesting for British buyers." Mr Stucklin went on to say that if potential buyers looked at the Spanish market in terms of euros, they would be able to find "50 per cent or more price reductions and you can find property on sale at the replacement cost". This, he explained was cheaper than building property. Brits looking to move to Spain should consider housing excess belongings and furniture in a self storage unit.

Spanish property an 'attractive investment' for Brits

The growing strength of the British pound against the Euro is to make the Spanish property market an interesting prospect, according to an...

Alcoa to Curtail Operations in Italy, Spain

Hours before kicking off earnings season, Alcoa (AA: 9.44, +0.02, +0.16%) said on Monday it plans to scale down operations at three aluminum smelters in Italy and Spain to tighten expenses as metal prices continue to fall. The curtailment will reduce the company’s global smelting capacity by 12%, or 531,000 metric tons, with operations as its Portovesme, Italy, and La Coruna and Avilies, Spain, facilities impacted in the first half of 2012. Alcoa plans to permanently close the facility in Portovesme, which has capacity of 150,000 metric tons, but just partially and temporarily shut the operations in Spain. The company said those plants are among the highest-cost producers in the Alcoa system. The Pittsburgh-based company blamed the curtailments on an uncompetitive energy market combined with rising raw materials costs and falling aluminum prices, which are down 27% from their peak in 2011. The move is a part of Alcoa’s long-term goal of improving its aluminum production operating margins by cutting down on costs. Last week, Alcoa said it would permanently close its smelter in Alcoa, Tennessee, and two potlines at its Rockdale, Texas, smelter. The company is expected to cut a total of 240,000 metric tons, or about 5%, of its global smelting capacity. “In today’s rapidly changing global economy, it is imperative to respond quickly to maintain competitiveness,” said Chris Ayers, president of Alcoa Global Primary Products.  “This decision was made after thorough analysis of all the possible alternatives.” The company said the total impact on its workforce will not be determined until consultations with employee representatives and government have been completed. However, the three facilities employ a total of about 1,500. Alcoa also says it will aggressively accelerate plans to reduce the cost of raw materials used by its primary products business and adjust capacity in the global refining system to reflect internal demand and market conditions.

Alcoa to Curtail Operations in Italy, Spain

Hours before kicking off earnings season, Alcoa (AA: 9.44, +0.02, +0.16%) said on Monday it plans to scale down operations at three alumin...

Santander Chairman Botin, Brother Lose Appeal in Spain Tax Case

Banco Santander SA Chairman Emilio Botin lost a bid at Spain’s National Court to block three groups’ ability to file complaints against him over accusations he broke national tax laws by hiding funds in Switzerland. Appeals by Botin, his brother Jaime Botin and other people contesting a November decision to allow the complaints by the three groups were rejected, the Madrid-based court said today in a ruling sent by e-mail. In Spain, any citizen can make a so- called popular accusation in legal proceedings even if they are not directly involved in the matter. The court said in June it would investigate Botin and 11 family members after tax officials received information on clients at HSBC Holdings Plc’s Swiss private bank from French authorities. The Botin family, in a statement distributed by Santander at the time, said it has put its tax affairs in order “voluntarily,” has met all its tax obligations and hopes the case will be cleared up in court. A spokesman for Spain’s largest bank, who asked not to be identified in line with company policy, declined to comment today in a phone interview. The complaints were made by three groups called Ciudadania Anticorrupcion, Asociacion Contra La Corrupcion Sistemica Y En Defensa Del Libre Ejercicio De La Acusacion Popular and Manos Limpias, the court said.

Santander Chairman Botin, Brother Lose Appeal in Spain Tax Case

Banco Santander SA Chairman Emilio Botin lost a bid at Spain’s National Court to block three groups’ ability to file complaints against hi...

Shoe shop chain Barratts Priceless makes 1,600 staff redundant

The high street gloom deepened on Friday as more than 1,600 workers at shoe chain Barratts Priceless were made redundant and 400 jobs were put at risk following the collapse of toy chain Hawkin's Bazaar. Barratts' administrators Deloitte said the 1,610 full- and part-time staff who manned its 371 concessions in stores such as Dorothy Perkins would be paid up until the end of Saturday. The Bradford-based shoe group collapsed this month when 170 of its 3,840 staff were laid off and 18 of its 191 stores closed. Deloitte partner Daniel Butters said it was hopeful that some retail jobs could be saved as the administrators were in "active discussions to rescue a significant part of the remaining business". The jobs blow came as restructuring specialist Zolfo Cooper was formally appointed at Hawkin's parent company Tobar, which also owns toys and children's accessories retailer Letterbox. The group, which also has a home shopping arm, employs 380 full-time staff at its 65 stores and head office in Beccles, Suffolk. The failure of Hawkin's, following the crucial Christmas trading period, is the second among retailers this week: fashion chain D2 Jeans has also folded. D2's administrator BDO immediately closed 19 of its 47 UK stores, making more than 200 employees redundant. No job losses have been announced at Hawkin's, with Zolfo Cooper saying the business would be run as a going concern. The 55 "pop-up" stores Hawkin's opened for Christmas, which employed 400 temporary staff, will close as planned. Zolfo Cooper's Peter Saville said: "Hawkin's has experienced exceptionally challenging trading conditions of late. At this stage we intend to continue to trade the component parts of the group whilst we seek a buyer for all or parts of its operations." Hawkin's was set up in 1973 and sells quirky toys, gifts, games and gadgets using the tagline "things you thought had gone forever, things you never even knew existed". Insiders suggested that a buyer would be found for at least part of the loss-making business, which at last count had debts of £42m.

Shoe shop chain Barratts Priceless makes 1,600 staff redundant

The high street gloom deepened on Friday as more than 1,600 workers at shoe chain Barratts Priceless were made redundant and 400 jobs were...

two years of crisis and bank debt in Europe, the roaring euro party is over.

Greeks are emptying their bank accounts, Italians are proposing that the Roman Catholic Church begin to pay nearly $1 billion in property taxes on lucrative hotels and businesses, and in the UK, protesters sans jobs have settled near 10 Downing in the wake of the nation’s biggest general strike in years. Spain has seen well-dressed panhandlers in Madrid. The Netherlands report higher bankruptcies and lower exports. French banks are cutting thousands of jobs. And in bailed-out Portugal, two religious and two civil holidays – weekdays off – will now fall on weekends, even as healthcare costs there have suddenly doubled in many hospitals. All across Europe, the severity of belt-tightening and public anger has brought a new stream of “austerity stories” to the fore: job cuts and their effect, new instances of ethnic hate, worry about social stability. Rising right-wing violence The majority of these stories flow out of Europe’s southern tier, the “less competitive” economies. Two Senegalese street traders in a Florence market were shot and killed Dec. 13 by a right-wing fanatic and three wounded. Higher piles of uncollected garbage sit on Greek streets and there’s an increase of drugs and crime there. Immigrants who used to be welcome labor five years ago in Greece, Italy, and especially in Spain, are now subject to heavy ID checks and public frowns, and there are more spasms of violence by vigilante groups. At times, the surly climate means that “Anyone who might pass for migrant runs the risk of being beaten up,” says Judith Sunderland of Human Rights Watch Europe. “There’s a gloomy mood… in ordinary neighborhoods that I visit… worry about jobs, benefits, social security and the cost of living,” says Pap Ndiaye, social historian at the Paris School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences. “On top of that, minorities are concerned about backlash or adding problems to the general population. A few years ago, minorities with degrees were leaving France for Great Britain but now the UK is no longer so hospitable. Now we are seeing a phenomenon of looking to the Americas. More professionals are moving to Montreal, for example… with no plans to come back to France.” Belt-tightening across the spectrum To ease austerity, Greece is selling ferryboats to Turkey and what appear to be third-world items like string, used auto parts, and TV antennas to improbable places like the Bahamas and the Marshall Islands. Italy this week said it will release some 3,300 prisoners with less than 18 months on their sentence – remanded to their homes – to save an estimated $500,000 a day. As Greece ekes out its EU bailout loans quarterly – the next tranche is still under negotiation – ordinary folks are depleting their bank accounts. The governor of the Greek central bank, Georgios Provopoulos, recently told parliament, "In September and October, savings and time deposits fell by a further 13 to 14 billion euros. In the first 10 days of November, the decline continued on a large scale.” The effect is to reduce the ability of banks to lend, he said. Some of the austerity effect may be indirectly positive. In Spain, archeologists outside Seville are glad that the building craze of the past 10 years has been halted, since planned shopping centers were to be erected on unexplored Copper Age settlements. Spanish police have also cracked down on a sophisticated forgery ring that was printing 50 euro notes out of a canning factory. In Italy, the 950 members of parliament that make nearly $200,000 a year are expected to cut their pay as the new government of Mario Monti seeks to deal with a cumulative 1.9 trillion euros in debt. Italy’s politicians earn twice that of French and German counterparts, and four times that of Spanish. Strains in northern Europe Yet various stresses and strains owing to new fracturing in Europe are not restricted just to the southern tier. Britain reports a 17-year high in unemployment even as EU figures show it has the 2nd highest living standard in Europe. London riots last August took place mainly among have-nots. Prime Minister David Cameron decided last week to opt-out of a German-French-engineered intergovernmental EU treaty designed to force discipline on EU states and stop future crises, seen as possibly isolating Britain. The decision highlighted an earlier decision by the town council of Bishop’s Stortford to alter an official 46-year old “sister city” or “twinning” relationship with the German town of Friedberg, near Frankfurt. The council is made up of mostly Tory or “euroskeptic” politicians and critics chided the town for downgrading the sister city status at a time of drift of European unity. More pertinently, perhaps, official November figures in the Netherlands, a more competitive state, show that some 610 businesses declared bankruptcy, an increase of 85 from October, and up from an average of roughly 500. Meanwhile, Dutch exports declined for the first time in two years in October. Dutch finance minister Jan Kees de Jager told reporters this week the country faces recessionary times and said there “are no taboos” in what may be cut in the budget. “We felt this coming. It is certainly not positive,” he said. “There are no easy times ahead of us.” The Netherlands will cut an estimated $24 billion under austerity measures, though the Freedom Party of anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders says it will not vote for cuts without a promise to end some $6 billion in foreign development aid.

two years of crisis and bank debt in Europe, the roaring euro party is over.

Greeks are emptying their bank accounts, Italians are proposing that the Roman Catholic Church begin to pay nearly $1 billion in property...

EMERGENCY evacuation plans for Brits living in Spain and Portugal are being drawn up amid fears of the euro collapsing.

<div class="article-image fl-left" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: #ffffff; background-image: url(http://images.mirror.co.uk/collections/m4_art2/imagegallery-bg.jpg); clear: both; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="image-caption" style="font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="Marbella, Andalusia, Spain (pic: Getty)" border="0" height="396" src="http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/dec2011/2/5/image-1-for-editorial-pics-19-12-2011-gallery-454534143.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; float: left; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="610" />Marbella, Andalusia, Spain (pic: Getty)</div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> <div class="inline-ad span-16 last" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; float: right; width: 310px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div class="caption" style="font-style: inherit; font-size: 0.917em; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color: #727272; line-height: 1.636em; text-align: center; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"></div><div class="ad0 mpu InSkinHide" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><div id="tmgdfc-rk2" style="font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><ins style="display: inline-table; height: 250px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 300px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: initial none initial;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="display: block; height: 250px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 300px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: initial none initial;"><iframe width="300" height="250" frameborder="0"></iframe></ins></ins><img alt="" height="1" src="http://ad.360yield.com/status?publisher_user_id=f76b9966-281a-42c6-a68e-a7c070233c30&publisher_dsp_id=2&publisher_call_type=redirect&publisher_redirecturl=http://ad.360yield.com/match" style="font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="1" /><img alt="" height="1" src="http://pixel.invitemedia.com/adnxs_sync?uid=394737483956258250" style="font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" width="1" /></div></div></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The drastic proposals emerged as a former Security Minister warned expats could be left stranded and destitute by the break-up of the single currency.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Brits who invested their savings in their adopted countries may not be able to withdraw cash and could even lose their homes if banks call in loans, worried ministers are warning.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The Foreign Office is preparing to bring them back from Spain and Portugal if the two countries are forced out of the euro, triggering a banking collapse.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">A million Brits live in Spain and 50,000 in neighbouring Portugal – plus a million in the other eurozone countries.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">And Baroness Neville-Jones, who only stepped down as a minister in May, called the situation “very, very worrying”.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The Tory peer – who once chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee for MI5, MI6 and other security agencies – said: “Spain is clearly a vulnerable area. If that happens, one of the things that will happen in a crash of that kind, is that the banks would close their doors. You would find that there are people there, including our own citizens, a lot of them, who couldn’t get money out to live on. So you would have a destitution problem.”<div class="art-o art-align-left otm-59 article-image" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: #ffffff; background-image: url(http://images.mirror.co.uk/collections/m4_art2/imagegallery-bg.jpg); clear: both; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"><img alt="Brits living in Europe Map" border="0" height="380" src="http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/dec2011/2/5/image-1-for-editorial-pics-19-12-2011-gallery-705996849.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; display: block; float: none !important; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;" title="Brits living in Europe Map" width="610" /></div><p class="crosshead" style="margin-top: -15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center; line-height: 18px; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">British planes, ships and coaches could be sent to pluck our citizens from debt-ridden Spain and Portugal<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Commenting on the evacuation plans, she added: “I think they are right to be doing that. I think this is a real contingency that they need to plan against – very, very worrying.”<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Officials are braced for a nightmare scenario where thousands end up penniless and sleeping at airports with no means of getting home. Planes, ships and coaches could be sent, with some expats being brought out through Gibraltar.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The Foreign Office could offer small loans while piling pressure on the banks to give Brits access to their funds.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Spanish and Portuguese banks guarantee the first 100,000 euros deposited by savers but many put limits on withdrawals in a crisis.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">A powerful credit rating agency downgraded 10 Spanish banks last week, while another warned over the weekend the debt crisis was threatening to spiral out of control.<span style="font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">

EMERGENCY evacuation plans for Brits living in Spain and Portugal are being drawn up amid fears of the euro collapsing.

Marbella, Andalusia, Spain (pic: Getty) The drastic proposals emerged as a former Security Minister warned expats could be left stranded a...

Spanish king forced son-in-law to quit job in 2006

King Juan Carlos told his son-in-law in 2006 to cut ties with a company now mired in corruption allegations, an official at Spain's royal palace said Sunday. Authorities are probing the activities of a non-profit company run by Inaki Urdangarin between 2004 and 2006. "(The king) ordered him to stand down from his activities and he sold his shares," said the official, who works at the royal palace's press office, confirming reports in the Spanish press. "He was told he shouldn't work for himself and it would be better if he worked overseas." Urdangarin, 43, also known as the Duke of Palma de Mallorca, now works for Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica in Washington, where he lives with with his wife, Infanta Cristina. The scandal, the first to hit Spain's royal family in years, centres on Urdangarin's time at the helm of the Instituto Noos, now suspected of siphoning off money from contracts paid by the regional government of the Balearic Islands, where the institute is based. The royal palace did not uncover any lies or fraud in 2006, the source said. However, a royal legal advisor found signs the Noos institute was possibly involved in commercial activities not consistent its non-profit mission. On December 12, the royal palace froze Urdangarin out of official activities over the scandal. The royal family traditionally maintains a discreet profile in Spain, where Juan Carlos is widely respected, credited with guiding the country to democracy after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. The scandal has nevertheless caused anger at a time when ordinary Spaniards are being squeezed by spending cuts and a lack of jobs, with an unemployment rate of 21.5 percent.

Spanish king forced son-in-law to quit job in 2006

King Juan Carlos told his son-in-law in 2006 to cut ties with a company now mired in corruption allegations, an official at Spain's ...

Ratings agency confirms it is could downgrade SIX eurozone countries... but France's AAA status is safe for now

Six eurozone countries could have their credit rating downgraded in the next few weeks amid uncertainty over how the financial crisis will...

Fitch warns Spain and Italy of downgrade as Moody's cuts Belgium by two notches

The eurozone’s third- and fourth-biggest economies were warned by Fitch of a “near-term” downgrade, alongside Ireland, Belgium, Slovenia and Cyprus. In a further blow, Belgium separately saw its credit rating downgraded two notches, to Aa3, by another leading agency, Moody’s. It cited the “sustained deterioration” in funding conditions for eurozone countries with relatively high levels of public debt, like Belgium, and new risks stemming from the country's troubled banking sector. The downgrade and warnings, delivered after the markets closed last night, came as Spain said its debts had soared; talks with Greece’s private bondholders stalled; and Hungary broke off talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Pitching itself firmly against Germany, the rating agency warned that the European Central Bank (ECB) needed to give a "more active and explicit commitment" to prevent "self-fulfilling liquidity crises" ripping through the eurozone. The ECB's support for eurozone banks was praised but Fitch said the central bank's "continued reluctance to countenance a similar degree of support to its sovereign shareholders" was undermining the efforts to create a firewall to stem the crisis.

Fitch warns Spain and Italy of downgrade as Moody's cuts Belgium by two notches

The eurozone’s third- and fourth-biggest economies were warned by Fitch of a “near-term” downgrade, alongside Ireland, Belgium, Slovenia and...

Karen Guillet would drive to her $50,000-a-year job at Oxford Town Hall in new Jaguar cars that cost more than her annual salary.

Karen Guillet would drive to her $50,000-a-year job at Oxford Town Hall in new Jaguar cars that cost more than her annual salary. She would walk to her office wearing thousands of dollars worth of clothes and regularly receive packages at work from upscale department stores. Oxford’s longtime tax collector always acted as if she had money – like when she asked a friend to buy her $1,800 boots from Bloomingdale’s and promised to promptly repay her, or all those times Guillet had lunch catered for her colleagues on random work days. But friends and co-workers say they chalked up Guillet’s seemingly lavish lifestyle to her simple explanation about how she could afford to enjoy the finer things in life: she had a rich aunt who left her money, and she had a trust fund that her father set up for her years ago. Friends and co-workers had no reason not to believe Guillet: though in hindsight at least one said they thought she was “a phony,” most trusted her just like the taxpayers did time and again when they voted her into office in quite a few Novembers and handed her their money – many times it was cash – every single April. It was a trust that friends and especially taxpayers would eventually come to regret. It turns out there was no aunt, just like there was no trust fund. There wasn’t a rich husband: his construction company was making about as much as Guillet was bringing in from Town Hall, where she worked as tax collector for 24 years, according to tax filings. There was, however, a gravy train that ran right through the tax office every day, and Guillet learned how to steer it right to her personal slush fund. And while Guillet spent years burning through money, in the end, it was she who went up in smoke when her embezzlement scheme came crashing down. Guillet now faces felony charges of larceny and forgery, and she will appear before a judge for the first time this morning (Monday, December 12, 2011) at Derby Superior Court. The above description of Guillet’s lifestyle is the way it is portrayed in a 27-page, sworn affidavit chock full of juicy details about how police believe she pulled off a longtime scam that bilked Oxford taxpayers out hundreds of thousands of dollars over at least a decade. While the affidavit released last week charges the 61-year-old Guillet with stealing $243,902, a pending civil suit filed by the town claims it’s more like $670,000 and could be even higher. Police have tried to prove she stole at least $243,902 because the penalties per law do not get any harsher once the sum goes higher than roughly that amount. The scheme Details of the alleged scheme - which were first made public during court proceedings for the civil trial in the spring - are long and drawn out in the legal affidavit; they need to be in order to have the best chance at proving the case in a court of law. However, what police describe as a “lapping scheme,” is rather quite simple. Guillet would steal cash payments and then shift checks from other deposits into the daily batch filed at the bank to make up for the cash shortages. For example, in a scenario described in court, on Aug. 10, 2009, the tax collector’s office took in $9,255 in cash, according to town records. However, just $858 was deposited at the bank for that day, town officials said. Those same officials alleged in court that Guillet took checks from different accounts to make up for the cash shortage while she pocketed $8,397 that day. An ad hoc committee of town officials was able to prove that the amount of cash on the computer in the tax collector’s office did not match the amount of cash deposited at the bank, according to the affidavit. “Also, checks were taken from other batches or sources in the tax office and added to the deposit with the missing cash to make up the account balance,” the affidavit states. “Therefore, the total deposit would equal the tax records, but the proper accounts were not credited. This process was repeated several times on subsequent deposits and a pattern was developed showing how Guillet would carry out her scheme.” Police state they spent the crux of time in their two-year investigation looking into the actual missing money on 100 deposit batches in 2008 and 2009. Police said in the affidavit they discovered there was a discrepancy of $243,902 between the amount of cash that should have been put in the town’s coffers and what was actually deposited. ($339,421 should have been deposited, $95,519 was actually deposited, according to the report.) The victims Sharon Scinto, the assistant tax collector and the woman who ultimately caught on to Guillet, told police “it seemed that Guillet would only take advantage of certain people,” according to the affidavit. She told police of a time when a local volunteer firefighter paid his taxes in cash, the document states. Guillet told him her computer wasn’t working so she couldn’t give him a receipt, Scinto is quoted as saying in the affidavit. “Scinto stated that fireman, whose name she does not remember, now has to repay his taxes while other taxpayers who have receipts for their cash payments are getting their accounts credited,” the document states. Local firefighters say there are more than few people within the volunteer department who were taken advantage of in a similar way; a couple of other victims were people who actually work in Town Hall. Not only did Guillet take advantage of laypeople, she stole from major corporations and some of the town’s largest taxpayers. The affidavit speaks of some of the biggest taxpayers also being duped, such as Yankee Gas, which the town had a give a tax credit to for $54,557 after their investigation revealed the company was not originally credited for that amount although the bill was paid. Where the money went The affidavit used to bring criminal charges against Guillet vividly describes her lavish lifestyle, one that was made posh with the piles of cash she is alleged to have brought in from the tax office. The affidavit discusses how Guillet’s bank and credit card statements show purchases for upscale shoes, trips to casinos and hotels, vacations worth thousands, two separate dog walkers – one of whom she paid $100 a day, deliveries of fresh flowers once a week , a cleaning lady and purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue, among other upscale stores. The affidavit details how in 2007, she spent $9,437 in nine months at a spa and salon in Southbury; she spent $2,382 during a one-night stay at an upscale hotel in New Hampshire. She would frequently shop at upscale stores in Fairfield County and spend between $3,500 and $6,000 in one trip, the affidavit states. One town employee stated Guillet “lives a lifestyle quite different from anyone else who worked in Town Hall.” Another former co-worker and Guillet’s one-time friend said Guillet had hired help around her house and spent “unbelievable amounts of money on clothes, beauty treatments, vacations, jewelry, home décor and landscaping” outside of her nice but modest one-and-a-half story saltbox-style (roof) Colonial on Douglas Lane that, according to land records, features a gazebo and an in-ground swimming pool. The affidavit also describes how a friend hired by Guillet to walk her dog and do other chores around her house would notice stacks of hundred dollar bills in her home and in her purse; the friend said Guillet would deposit between $2,000 and $3,000 in cash every week. And the friend said she’d sometimes see deposit slips from the tax office at Guillet’s house, mainly in a laundry room where it is believed Guillet kept most of the money she is alleged to have stolen. That same friend also said Guillet would frequently talk about how her house was paid off, and the friend knew Guillet put half of her salary into her retirement plan. How she was caught On Nov. 10, 2009, Scinto, the assistant tax collector, came across what she believed was a fraudulent deposit slip in the tax office. Scinto told police that on that day she wrote up a deposit slip totaling $30,788.88 including $3,093.43 in cash. She asked Assistant Tax Assessor Joyce Eades to confirm the cash amount. According to the affidavit, “Eades verified the cash amount because Guillet was not available at the time. Later that day, Guillet brought the deposit to Naugatuck Valley Savings and Loan. When the bank deposit bag was returned to the tax office, Scinto noticed the deposit slip was for only $27,695.46. Upon questioning Guillet, (Guillet) quickly took the deposit slip from Scinto and said she would take care of it at the bank. “A loud discussion then occurred. Joyce Eades overheard the discussion. Scinto said Guillet never told her whether she contacted the bank or if the matter was resolved. Scinto made a copy of the deposit slip which appeared later and seemed to be in Guillet’s handwriting (officials believe she was fabricating deposit slips by making them on a typewriter) with typed bank numbers of on it, not the typical banking print and not the deposit slip that Scinto wrote or the one she had seen come out of the bank deposit bag. This was later confirmed to be the initial fabricated deposit slip.” Scinto told police she immediately reported the incident to then-First Selectman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers and then-town attorney Fran Teodosio. The affidavit states that after that date, Guillet remained in her office for about six weeks – Guillet was put on leave on Jan. 13, 2010 - while town officials looked into the matter further. In that time, town officials told police in the affidavit that Guillet was seen and heard ripping up papers in her office and throwing them out, which the town employees described as unusual behavior for Guillet. The affidavit also states that Guillet is believed to have taken money in the time between when Scinto first told town officials her concerns and when Guillet was actually removed from her post. The affidavit states that $4,491.83 was taken on Nov. 23, 2009, and that $11,917.86 was taken on Dec. 17, 2009. When Guillet was brought in for a meeting with Drayton-Rogers and Teodosio on Jan. 13, 2010, she admitted to stealing $3,093. She was then put on leave and town officials began a more thorough investigation, in which they discovered her ongoing money stealing scheme as well as that Guillet seemed to have changed tax assessments, including one on her own home. Town officials also notified state police. The following month, Guillet told Drayton-Rogers she was sorry and that she had just gone to confession; Guillet said she just wanted “to go away” and never be seen again. She formally resigned on June 22, 2010. Local impact It’s not clear just how much the stolen money ultimately impacted people’s taxes, but what is clear is that it certainly had an effect. The affidavit states that between 1992 and 1994, Oxford had a tax collection rate around 92 percent or 93 percent – anything below 96 percent is considered by tax officials to be very bad. Guillet said the reason was because an escrow check from a bank was mistakenly deposited to the finance office, bypassing her office and not properly crediting the town’s account. (The affidavit does not describe more recent tax collection rates.) First Selectman George Temple said he believes the town paid for Guillet’s mistakes in one way or another through taxation. Asked if he thought the details of the affidavit – especially those about what Guillet allegedly spent the money on – was a slap in the face to the taxpayers, Temple said he believes it is worse. “It’s more than a slap in the face, it’s a betrayal,” he said. “She is somebody who a lot of people had a very high regard for, including me. To see this kind of a thing going on, it’s hard to take.” Other officials interviewed by police had similar sentiments. Tax Assessor Eva Lintzner told police she felt betrayed and hurt by Guillet’s actions. “We were a trusting community,” Lintzner told police, according to the affidavit. “And that has been shattered.”

Karen Guillet would drive to her $50,000-a-year job at Oxford Town Hall in new Jaguar cars that cost more than her annual salary.

Karen Guillet would drive to her $50,000-a-year job at Oxford Town Hall in new Jaguar cars that cost more than her annual salary. She would ...

The top ranks of the Government are now coming to the conclusion that the break-up of the euro is inevitable.

I understand that Hague, like the Chancellor, now believes this will happen soon. Osborne told Cabinet colleagues on Monday that the Merkel-Sarkozy plan for greater fiscal discipline within the eurozone was no solution to the current  crisis. Rather, he said, ‘it was like standing over a man having a heart attack and telling him that to avoid one in future he should do more exercise and cut down on cholesterol’. This view that the euro is unlikely to survive is why there are, so far, few worries about Britain being isolated by the eurozone bloc and its allies. The Government is also confident that the differences between the countries in the single currency will remain – that the Netherlands and Finland will continue to take a more liberal attitude to financial services and the single market than the French and the Italians. But there’s little doubt that Cameron’s decision to wield the veto changes Britain’s relationship with the other members of the European Union. The days of Britain carrying on down the same route as the rest of Europe, just at a slower pace, are now over. As one of Cameron’s closest allies says: ‘We are now, inevitably, en route to a very different destiny.’ ... but one rift is healing, at least Labour’s failure to capitalise on the weakening economy has led to renewed tensions within the party’s ranks. Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor, is the target of much of this backbiting. Shadow Cabinet sources complain he is more interested in justifying his record in office than winning the argument about what to do now. Balls’ detractors argue that his bellicose statements are drowning out Ed Miliband’s message.

The top ranks of the Government are now coming to the conclusion that the break-up of the euro is inevitable.

I understand that Hague, like the Chancellor, now believes this will happen soon. Osborne told Cabinet colleagues on Monday that the Mer...

Banker Bob Diamond has introduced what he calls 'the no-jerk rule' and has encouraged at least 40 executives at his firm to find jobs elsewhere.

The American-born chief executive of Barclays said he does not care how good people are at what they do, if they are not suitable, they will be asked to leave. So far he claims dozens of executives have been shown the door after behaving like jerks or spending lavish amounts of money. Mr Diamond also said if bankers act like 'Prima Donnas' or don't get along with their colleagues they can work elsehwere. 'You know what a jerk is when you see it,' he said. 'If we ever ignore the rule it always comes back to haunt us.' The millionaire, who boasts high profits, big bonuses and an annual salary of £6.75 million said the 'greed is good' attitude of some bankers was 'a bit' of a jerk thing to do. He also mentioned an incident which involved a Barclays investment banker wracking up a bill of £44,000 on wine at Michelin-starred restaurant Petrus. 'That was embarrassing. It was taking advantage - we have a responsibility to our colleauges and to have acted that way in a public place was inexcusable,' he told The Guardian newspaper. Although he is known for flying easyJet instead of private jets and preferring to eat at Pizza Express instead of high brow restaurants, some might feel the comments are a bit rich coming from a man whose doorman is dressed in fur. Peter Mandelson once called Mr Diamond the 'unacceptable face of banking' and he also provoked outrage last year when he said the time for remorse and apology from bankers was over. But Mr Diamond is now calling for bankers to try and become better people. 'I don't think niceness is ever a sign of weakness. When people are mean it's usually a defence mechanism. 'Everyone gets stressed from time to time but no one should ever not be nice.'

Banker Bob Diamond has introduced what he calls 'the no-jerk rule' and has encouraged at least 40 executives at his firm to find jobs elsewhere.

The American-born chief executive of Barclays said he does not care how good people are at what they do, if they are not suitable, they will...

Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye at the centre of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, has been arrested

Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye at the centre of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, has been arrested by Scotland Yard detectives pursuing a fresh investigation into phone intercepts, according to a person familiar with the inquiry. Officers working on Operation Weeting – the Metropolitan Police’s second probe into phone hacking at News International, which owned the now-defunct Sunday tabloid – announced on Wednesday that they had arrested a 41-year-old man who was being held on suspicion of conspiracy to hack voicemail messages and perverting the course of justice.  Mr Mulcaire is the 16th person to be arrested under the new operation, and has already served a six-month prison sentence in 2007 after pleading guilty to intercepting phone messages. He was arrested at his home in Surrey in a dawn swoop and held in a south London police station. Detectives on Operation Weeting have used the private investigator’s notebooks – which contain the names of nearly 5,800 potential victims and run to around 11,000 pages – as the basis for their investigation, trawling through the documents to identify those who may have been hacked. The hacking scandal was reignited this summer when it was revealed that the News of the World had hacked into the voicemail messages of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler after she went missing in 2002, leading her parents to believe that she was still alive. Last month, Mr Mulcaire released a statement through his lawyer, denying that he had deleted voicemail messages on Ms Dowler’s phone. “[He] did not delete messages and had no reason to do so,” the statement read. The Financial Times could not reach Mr Mulcaire’s lawyer for comment on Wednesday. Chris Bryant, a Labour MP and suspected hacking victim, told the FT he was “quite encouraged” that Mr Mulcaire had been taken in for questioning. “I always thought this was a logical next step, but not one [the police] would take unless they had sufficient fresh evidence to put to [Mr Mulcaire], and it seems now they do,” he said. News of the arrest came as lawyers for Andy Coulson, the News of the World’s former editor, argued in the High Court on Wednesday that the tabloid’s parent company should continue to pay Mr Coulson’s legal bills arising from the criminal investigation into phone hacking. It emerged during the course of Mr Coulson’s evidence that News Group Newspapers – a subsidiary of News International – had continued to reimburse Mr Coulson for legal fees relating to his involvement in the judge-led phone hacking inquiry and parliamentary select committee hearings. The court heard that Mr Coulson had received a letter from Tom Mockridge, the chief executive of News International, in August informing him of an “immediate cessation” of payments in relation to criminal legal fees.

Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye at the centre of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, has been arrested

Glenn Mulcaire, the private eye at the centre of the News of the World phone hacking scandal, has been arrested by Scotland Yard detective...

US agents laundered drug money

Anti-narcotics agents working for the US government have laundered or smuggled millions of dollars in drug proceeds to see how the system works and use the information against Mexican drug cartels, The New York Times reported Sunday. Citing unnamed current and former federal law enforcement officials, the newspaper said the agents, primarily with the Drug Enforcement Administration, have handled shipments of hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal cash across borders. Some 45,000 people have been killed in Mexico since 2006, when its government launched a major military crackdown against the powerful drug cartels that have terrorized border communities as they battled over lucrative smuggling routes. According to these officials, the operations were aimed at identifying how criminal organizations move their money, where they keep their assets and, most important, who their leaders are, the report said. The agents had deposited the proceeds in accounts designated by traffickers, or in shell accounts set up by agents, the paper noted. While the DEA conducted such operations in other countries, it began doing so in Mexico only in the past few years, The Times said. As it launders drug money, the agency often allows cartels to continue their operations over months or even years before making seizures or arrests, the report said. According to The Times, agency officials declined to publicly discuss details of their work, citing concerns about compromising their investigations. But Michael Vigil, a former senior official who is currently working for a private contracting company called Mission Essential Personnel, is quoted by the paper as saying: "We tried to make sure there was always close supervision of these operations so that we were accomplishing our objectives, and agents weren?t laundering money for the sake of laundering money."

US agents laundered drug money

Anti-narcotics agents working for the US government have laundered or smuggled millions of dollars in drug proceeds to see how the system ...

Wife found Gary Speed's body, inquest hears

Wales football manager Gary Speed was found hanged at his home by his wife, an inquest was told today. The 42-year-old father-of-two was found dead at his Cheshire home on Sunday morning. Detective Inspector Peter Lawless, of Cheshire Police, told Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg that Speed's body was found by his wife Louise just before 7am. He said there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances and a post mortem examination found Speed's death was caused by hanging. Mr Rheinberg said: "I adjourn this inquest until January 30, 2012. The inquest will be heard in Warrington and will commence at 2pm." There was a huge media presence at the inquest in Warrington but members of Speed's family did not attend. The coroner asked the media to "respect the privacy" of Speed's family. Earlier today Welsh Assembly Members observed a minute's silence in the Senedd, Cardiff Bay, while flags continue to fly at half mast outside the Welsh Assembly buildings Ty Hywel and the Senedd. Speaking on behalf of the footballer's widow, Louise, and the family, Speed's agent and best man at his wedding Hayden Evans said last night they had been "overwhelmed" with messages of support and condolence. Tributes to the former Leeds United, Everton and Newcastle United midfielder, also poured in from a host of public and sporting figures, led by Prime Minister David Cameron. Mr Cameron said: "I know he meant an enormous amount to people and people feel very, very sad on his behalf and on his family's behalf." The Football Association of Wales chief executive Jonathan Ford said the organisation had received messages from UEFA and FIFA, with the Welsh flag at FIFA House in Zurich flying at half-mast. Mr Ford said: "He was such a great person and he is such a loss." Tottenham winger Gareth Bale, one of the brightest talents in Speed's Wales side, said it was a "massive shock". "It is a tragedy, everyone still can't get their head around it and all our condolences go out to his family and his kids. It is a hard time," Bale told tottenhamhotspur.com. Supporters have left scarves, football shirts and flowers across several football stadiums - including Everton's Goodison Park, Leeds United's Elland Road, Newcastle United's St James' Park and The Millennium Stadium and Cardiff City Stadium, where Wales played their home games. The FAW has opened a book of condolences at its offices in Cardiff allowing fans to express their feelings about Speed's death.

Wife found Gary Speed's body, inquest hears

Wales football manager Gary Speed was found hanged at his home by his wife, an inquest was told today. The 42-year-old father-of-two was ...

TWO families are rejoicing after two men held in a Spanish prison were set free after four-and-a-half months

<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;"> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Kyle Thain, 24, and James Harris, 29, have been released on bail from Font Calent jail in Alicante.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">This has left family members and friends overwhelmed – and they haven’t given up hope of getting them back to Britain for Christmas.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Kyle’s brother Jay, 29, said: “This is the best I have felt in a long while. It’'s amazing news.”<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Sharon Harris, 56, Kyle’s mother, and husband Dave, 58, sold their Southend home to help fund the legal fight.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Yesterday, £8,000 was transferred to Spain for each of the lads’ bail.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Kyle of Sandringham Road, Southend, and James, of Pelham Road, Southend, have been held without charge since July 8. They are accused of attempted murder after two men were stabbed during a bar brawl near Alicante, close to where they were staying on a lads’ weekend away. They were arrested as they went to board the flight home.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The two pals have always maintained their innocence and insist they did not even set foot in the bar where the violence took place. Their families are convinced there has been a terrible case of mistaken identity.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Kyle and James are now due to leave prison today once funds have cleared. Jay and Sharon will fly out tomorrow where they will be reunited with Kyle and James who will stay with James’s mother Kate Burgess who has been in Spain since their arrest.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The decision on bail was finally made after a judge was presented with evidence that has been available all along.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Jay said a previous solicitor had told a judge that Kyle and James had pictures of them at their apartment around the time of the bar fight.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">The new solicitor apparently put the time and date stamped pictures in front of the judge and said they convinced him it was sufficient evidence to at least release Kyle and James from jail.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">A previous bail application in September was denied earlier this month and Kyle’s mum Sharon said she was beginning to prepare for Christmas being a “non-event”.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">But now the two families are looking forward to trying to clear the names of Kyle and James once and for all.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Jay, also of Sandringham Road, added: “This is a really positive step in the right direction.<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">“The aim is to try and get them bail to the UK and to continue fighting for the case to be dropped completely.”<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6em; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px initial initial;">Since Kyle and James were arrested family and friends in south Essex have rallied in support with fundraising events netting thousands of pounds for the legal fight.

TWO families are rejoicing after two men held in a Spanish prison were set free after four-and-a-half months

Kyle Thain, 24, and James Harris, 29, have been released on bail from Font Calent jail in Alicante. This has left family members and frien...

Spanish savings bank directors suspected of fraud

Spanish savings bank has fired two directors and is investigating two former executives for allegedly syphoning off €20 million ($26.5 million) into secret pension funds, the bank said Saturday. The board of directors of Caixa Penedes bank had "required the departure" of its president, Ricard Pages, and director general Manuel Troyano. It said both men had agreed to leave, the bank said in a statement. The decision comes after state prosecutor for the northeastern region of Catalonia, Teresa Compte, said her office was investigating all four on suspicion of involvement in illegal activity. Regional newspaper La Vanguardia said the case was the first time prosecutors had investigated senior executives for "criminal responsibility" in their handling of a savings bank. The prosecutor named the other two former executives as Joan Caellas and Jaume Jorba. Caixa Penedes along with partners Cajamurcia, CajaGRANADA and SA NOSTRA owns Banco Mare Nostrum, S.A. (BMN). The group received €916 million ($1.21 billion) in restructuring aid from the Bank of Spain's Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB). The fund was set up to aid institutions meet higher reserve requirements and is aimed at strengthening their finances and quelling fears that Spain might be Europe's next country to need a bailout. Caixa Penedes said its board "disapproved of the content, method, lack of transparency, unusual nature and disproportionate size" of the remuneration package the four directors had helped themselves to. The pension funds were set up in another institution without the knowledge of Caixa Penedes's board. Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, spokesman for trade union Comisiones Obreras said that if the money could be recovered it could help offset the €45 million ($59.53 million) in wage bill savings BMN had recently said it would seek from its work force. He said many BMN employees are members of Comisiones Obreras. The investigation comes as Spain is burdened with an unemployment rate of 21.5 percent — nearly 5 million people out of work — the eurozone's highest. The country's borrowing costs have also risen to an almost unsustainable level of 7 percent interest rate on 10-year bonds. An auction of 12- and 18-month bonds last week also went badly, with Spain forced to offer very high interest rates to investors.

Spanish savings bank directors suspected of fraud

Spanish savings bank has fired two directors and is investigating two former executives for allegedly syphoning off €20 million ($26.5 mil...

British banks need to plan for a potentially disorderly break-up of the euro zone,

British banks need to plan for a potentially disorderly break-up of the euro zone, or the exit of some countries as part of their contingency planning, as the sovereign debt crisis shows no sign of abating, a top regulator said on Thursday. Andrew Bailey, deputy head of the Prudential Business Unit at the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA), said UK banks don't have large exposures to the euro zone, but must plan for the worst. "We cannot be, and are not, complacent on this front," Bailey said at a conference. "As you would expect, as supervisors we are very keen to see the banks plan for any disorderly consequence of the euro area crisis. "Good risk management means planning for unlikey but severe scenarios and this means that we must not ignore the prospect of a disorderly departure of some countries from the euro zone. "I offer no view on whether it will happen, but it must be within the realm of contingency planning," he said. Bailey, who was Chief Cashier at the Bank of England, moved to the FSA as part of preparations for a shake up of UK financial supervision from 2013. He will be deputy head of the new Prudential Regulation Authority which will be a subsidiary of the Bank. Bailey said the resilience of UK banks has improved substantially since the 2007-2009 near meltdown of the global financial system. "Today, UK banks are not front-and-centre of the problem," Bailey said

British banks need to plan for a potentially disorderly break-up of the euro zone,

British banks need to plan for a potentially disorderly break-up of the euro zone, or the exit of some countries as part of their contingenc...

Hungary will investigate possible cartel activity on the household mortgage market by seven banks

Hungary will investigate possible cartel activity on the household mortgage market by seven banks, the Competition Authority said. The investigation was initiated against OTP Bank Nyrt., Fundamenta-Lakaskassza Zrt. and the local units of Erste Group Bank AG, Raiffeisen Bank International AG, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, UniCredit SpA and Bayerische Landesbank, according to an e- mailed statement today. The authority said it conducted unannounced inspections at some of the banks. The lenders raised interest rates “significantly” on household mortgage loans and introduced new products with higher rates from Sept. 22, three days after Hungarian lawmakers approved a plan that forced banks to accept exchange rate risk on the early repayment of foreign currency mortgages, the Competition Authority said. “The probable explanation for the simultaneous increase is an agreement amongst banks,” the authority said, citing information it has received. “The supposed agreement was that banks offer products with higher interest rates and limit access to lower interest-rate products in connection with the early repayment of foreign currency loans.” OTP weakened 0.7 percent to 3,000 forint at the 5 p.m. close of trading in Budapest, extending this year’s loss to 40 percent.

Hungary will investigate possible cartel activity on the household mortgage market by seven banks

Hungary will investigate possible cartel activity on the household mortgage market by seven banks, the Competition Authority said. The inve...

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