Operation Malaya facts for kids
Operation Malaya is a special effort in Spain to fight against corruption in the city of Marbella. It started in 2006. The Policía Nacional, which is like Spain's national police force, leads this effort under the guidance of Judge Miguel Ángel Torres.
The main goal of Operation Malaya is to uncover a hidden network of people involved in dishonest activities. These activities included things like offering or taking bribes, misusing public money, and using their power unfairly. People involved were members of the Marbella City Council, business owners, and important lawyers. So far, more than €2.4 billion has been found and taken back.
On May 3, 2007, a famous singer named Isabel Pantoja was questioned about possibly not paying taxes and handling money in a way that wasn't allowed. This was linked to Julián Muñoz, who used to be the mayor of Marbella. He was already in jail as part of this investigation, along with over 100 other people. Isabel Pantoja was later released after paying €90,000.
Why Operation Malaya Started
In March 2005, another investigation called the White Whale Operation uncovered a large network that was hiding money that came from illegal activities. During this investigation, police listened to phone calls. These calls provided clues about dishonest dealings related to city planning in an area called the Costa del Sol.
About a year later, the city government of Marbella was changed. A new group of people was put in charge to manage the city until new elections could be held. This new group was led by Don Diego Martín Reye.
After this change, the government of the Andalusian region decided that Marbella's city council could no longer approve new building plans. This was because of serious concerns about how city planning was being handled in Marbella.
Other Investigations Linked to Malaya
Operation Malaya helped to start other investigations into possible cases of dishonesty in city planning across Spain. While not all parts of Spain had as many building projects as the Costa del Sol before 2008, similar problems have been found in other areas.
People have started thinking about what can be done to stop these kinds of dishonest networks in the future. Many agree that the process for planning new buildings and using land in Spain could be made much clearer and fairer for everyone.
See also
In Spanish: Caso Malaya para niños
