Juan Antonio Roca, the alleged ‘brains’ behind the corruption in Marbella, is back in jail after enjoying just a little over a week of freedom.
Roca has spent the past two years in custody for his alleged involvement in the widespread corruption which took place in Marbella. A few weeks ago, a judge controversially set bail for Roca in relation to the ‘Malaya’ case, the amount being one million euros.
In a very short space of time, despite all(?) his assets being frozen by the courts, Roca and his family managed to come up with the one million and he walked free. As he left prison, proclaiming his innocence, he even hinted that he might go back to take up his old job with Marbella Council. This prompted Council officials in Marbella to respond by saying that if he tried it, they would sack him immediately.
However, Juan Antonio Roca is back in jail, this time in Madrid. In 2002, a judge set bail for Roca in another corruption case, ‘Saqueo 1’, which involved the diverting of some €27 million of public funds to private companies. The amount of the bail was €450,000 and Roca duly paid it and walked free.
In the meantime, the Prosecutor’s Office and the authorities in Marbella asked for a review of the ‘Saqueo 1’ case on the grounds that they believe that Roca may still try to abscond using funds he still has outside the country. The result of this review has been a decision by the High Court to reset bail in this case to three million euros and until Roca can come up with the money he’s back inside.
In addition, due to the fact that, theoretically at least, all Roca’s assets are frozen, the judge has ordered an investigation into where the one million euros came from which let him out in the first place.