| SPAIN'S largest-ever corruption trial is about to start this week, with a total of 95 people in the docks who include well-known celebrities.
The infamous 'Caso Malaya', which hit the headlines in 2007, could see various members of Marbella town council going down for anything up to 30 years over charges relating to money-laundering, misuse of public funds, bribery and corruption.
Those involved in the case – which involved illicit property dealings affecting urbanisations as far afield as Los Alcázares in Murcia – include lawyer and current president of Sevilla FC, José María del Nido, and singer Isabel Pantoja.
The main accused parties are former mayor and mayoress of Marbella, Julián Muñoz and Marisol Yagüe – who are facing 10 and 20 years in jail, respectively – and the latter's assessor and council-worker, Juan Antonio Roca, who could be imprisoned for up to 30 years and prevented from carrying out his profession for the next 44 years.
The case will involve reviewing 196 files comprising 30,000 documents of a total of 200,000 pages.
Oral testimonies could take more than a year to complete, and around 300 reporters from around the world have been given press passes to the trial, either allowing them to attend in person or to follow the trial daily via mobile units that have been set up for the purpose.
The Caso Malaya trial is set to be one of the largest the country has ever seen.
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