Article from Olive Press...good to see there is some pressure for people in high places to account for all this mess. This is just one of the scandalous property cases that went on in Spain. Sometime not even the Spanish at the centre of it, it has to be said...

Spanish Ocean View that never was

February 23, 2011  Olive Press
 

NEARLY 100 British families have filed for fraud after being embroiled in a property scandal in Estepona.

They accuse a trio of British estate agents of illegally taking deposits for the so-called Costa del Sol Estepona Country Club. In total over seven million euros was put down for 395 luxury apartments, which never had planning permission.

The company Ocean View did not even own the land, which is classified as rustic.

The trio, David Stewart, Robert Parkes and Colin Thomas must answer charges alongside Spanish promoter, Ricardo Miranda Miret.

The victims, mainly from Northern Ireland, paid between 70,000 and 80,000 euros to the company between 2005 and 2006.

Two of the investors paid over a million euros each.

Marbella lawyer Antonio Flores explained that 68 of the 90 victims are linked to the Estepona case, with the rest in the Dominican Republic and Morocco.

He is calling for Prince Albert of Monaco to give evidence as he participated in a promotional event linked to Ocean View. The president of the Dominican Republic has also been called to testify.