Huh?! (Sir Sean 'too old' to travel for Spanish court case)

[Bond77]

http://dimewars.com/Blog/Sean-Connery-I ... 55d9990f62

[Blowfeld]

Sean Connery Involved In Shady Real Estate Deals

Sean Connery - The 80-year old former James Bond actor, Sean Connery, recently declined to appear in Spanish court as requested by a judge. According to the Associated Press, Sean Connery is involved in an allegedly shady real estate deal involving a beachfront mansion near Marbella. Sean Connery reportedly own the property and adjacent land which was re-zoned to allow condos to be built. The court officials haven't revealed much details, however, Spanish media reports claim that a judge is probing Sean for possible tax evasion.

There are additional reports that approximately 95 individuals have gone to trial over this case in the past month. Come on Sean Connery, pay what you owe!

[Blowfeld]

Sir Sean Connery failed to appear at a court hearing in Spain on Friday, claiming he was too old to travel.
By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor
Published: 3:03PM BST 15 Oct 2010

The 80-year-old James Bond actor was summoned to testify in a corruption case involving the sale of his beachside home on Spain's Costa del Sol.

However, officials said he had sent a letter to the court in Marbella explaining that he could not travel due to his age and health issues. The news came as a surprise to fans who saw the actor fly in for the Edinburgh Film Festival in June. He launched the event by dancing a jig for the television cameras.

In April, he was well enough to attend a New York fashion show in aid of his Friends of Scotland charity.

Sir Sean and his second wife, Micheline Roquebrune, have not been charged with any offence but were summoned to give evidence in the 'Goldfinger' case, so code-named after the actor's 1964 Bond film.

Magistrates are investigating allegations of tax evasion and money-laundering involving an area of land on which the couple previously had a home.

They sold the property in 1999 for a reported £5.5 million. A developer later built a four-storey block of holiday apartments on the site, which sold for an estimated £45 million. Investigators claim there were irregularities in the reclassification of the land after the actor sold it, and police raided the offices of Sir Sean's law firm, Diaz-Basten & Truan. Several local council officials are also being investigated.

Sir Sean is based in the Bahamas and also owns an apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

He has had brushes with ill health in the past - in 2006 he underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his kidney, and in an interview with a magazine last year he said: "I have a heart condition and am not supposed to take much alcohol. But I do drink red wine [because it is] good for the health."

This story can be found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/8066627/Sir-Sean-Connery-too-old-to-travel-for-Spanish-court-case.html

[Bond77]

From the outside looking in, it looks like Connery got caught in the crossfire with this one. It will probably be a headache to him more than anything else.

[Dr. No]

That's what I think is happening too. He doesn't seem to be involved beyond he sold he property to people who did something crooked afterwards. I think he is a famous name to grab attention, maybe Spain wants to try to squeeze a few million out of him as a fine they are bankrupt after all. Thats what governments try to do whne they find themselves going under they increase fines and target people and corporations they think can afford to pay them off to make the headache go away.

[Bond77]

That's what I think is happening too. He doesn't seem to be involved beyond he sold he property to people who did something crooked afterwards. I think he is a famous name to grab attention, maybe Spain wants to try to squeeze a few million out of him as a fine they are bankrupt after all. Thats what governments try to do whne they find themselves going under they increase fines and target people and corporations they think can afford to pay them off to make the headache go away.

I agree with you that they are using his name. And calling it the "Goldfinger case" makes it even more egregious. My theory - whoever is responsible for putting this case together (probably the Spanish equivalent of an American district attorney or an attorney general) is trying to make a name for themselves by busting some Spanish big wigs, and they are using Connery's name to bring more notoriety to the case and themselves. If Connery is innocent and has no pertinent role in the case then he should find someone to sue for this embarrassment.

Whatever the case, the story made me say "huh?!" because the whole thing is kind of strange.

[carl stromberg]

Sir Sean is based in the Bahamas and also owns an apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

I thought as a Scottish nationalist he would live in Scotland.

[okconnery]

still going on three years later

1:42 PM Friday Jul 5, 2013

Sir Sean Connery and his wife have been threatened with arrest if they do not appear before a judge in Spain by the end of the year in relation to an ongoing money-laundering and property fraud investigation.

The 82-year-old former James Bond and his wife Micheline became embroiled in the long-running probe after selling off their beachfront mansion near Marbella in 1998.

They made US$5.4 million (A$5.94 million) after offloading the property to redevelopers, but reportedly failed to pay £1.29 million in tax on the sale of development rights to the land.

Their estate was knocked down and replaced with a complex of 72 apartments, yielding a £48.4 million profit - but it subsequently emerged that these were built illegally, as local laws dictated that only five homes could be constructed on the site.

Those involved in the bad deal, including former Marbella Mayor Julian Munoz and the city's former chief of urban planning, Juan Antonio Roca, were all arrested over the illegal rezoning.

Connery and his wife, who have denied allegations of money laundering, have repeatedly snubbed summons to testify in the property scandal due to the actor's ailing health, but now a judge has had enough of the delay and has vowed to issue warrants for their arrest if they ignore the prosecution's latest demand to give evidence, reports Spanish news agency EFE.

The Connerys, who have since taken up residence in the Bahamas, were first linked to the investigation in May, 2010.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment ... d=10894983