The Marbella connection

[NewsWhore]

Clave Digital has begun publishing a series of articles on ties of investors in the Dominican tourism industry to Carlos Sanchez and Andres Lietor Martinez, two key people accused of involvement with the Operation Malaya corruption scandal in Marbella, Spain. The investigative journalism reports looked into linkages with former Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas Maldonado. The report analyzes the deals involving the government-owned Cayo Levantado and Cayacoa hotels, land in Samana, and the Hotel Hispaniola in Santo Domingo and points out how these represented millions of dollars in profits for Vargas who aspires to the PRD presidential candidacy for the 2008 election. The report looks into the partnership between Grupo Pineiro of Spain, operators of the Bahia Principe company that recently purchased several major properties in Samana, and the accused Spaniards. Clave Digital points out that once the scandal hit the press in Spain, the Pineiro Group purchased the remaining 40% share of the accused partners in the holding company of Cayo Levantado and Cayacoa hotels.
The report reveals that an advance payment of US$4 million made by the CIRSA casino group was used for the purchase of the Hispaniola Hotel. For the remaining payment, the report claims that protected area property was transacted with the government. To legalize this situation, a bill was passed that excluded these plots of land from protected status, prior to the end of the Mejia government.
See http://www.clavedigital.com

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