| The State Prosecutor maintained today, Tuesday, that singer Isabel Pantoja did indeed help Julián Muñoz, the ex-mayor of Marbella, hide his ill-gotten funds in her maze of companies with the specific intention of laundering the money.
In her summary, María del Mar López-Herrero, confirmed that the singer, who is facing a jail term of up to three and a half years for her part in the money-laundering enterprise, offered the use of her own private companies to conceal the source of the money and actually received funds directly into others.
With regard to the apartament Pantoja allegedly bought in the Hotel Guadalpín in Marbella, the prosecutor maintains that it was paid for by Julián Muñoz, who made contact with the construction company Aifos even before the property was built.
The prosecutor also maintains that the purchase of the luxury chalet 'La Pera' was another money-laundering exercise by Pantoja and Muñoz. She also pointed out that Pantoja used to work in Marbella town hall and thatt there are photos of her together with Julián Muñoz at the Fitur Tourism Fair, which is where the chalet purchase was brokered.
Evidence was also presented that Pantoja had made numerous, substantial cash payments to agricultural workers in her employ, which "suggest further attempts to launder funds made available to her by Julián Muñoz".
The state prosecutor in this anti-corruption trial maintained today that Julián Muñoz was the "cornerstone, the source, the one who orchestrated and organised,... the one who utilised the people around him to hide this money", but insisted that Pantoja was well aware of what she was doing when she helped him conceal the illicit funds. |