The operation, now in its third phase, has the objective of exposing a network involved in concealing numerous illicit activities, (including bribery, embezzlement, and influence peddling) carried out by members of the Marbella City Council, businessmen, and prominent lawyers, among others.
[1] On May 3, 2007, singer Isabel Pantoja was arrested for possible tax evasion and money laundering, which she allegedly did on behalf of the former mayor of Marbella, Julián Muñoz.
The evidence collected included intercepts of telephone conversations relating to cases of urban corruption in the Costa del Sol.
[3] A year later, Marbella City Council was wound up, and was replaced by a management committee presided over by Don Diego Martín Reye, pending fresh elections.
While not all of Spain experienced such a high level of construction projects as the Costa del Sol prior to 2008, evidence of similar abuses has come to light in other parts of the country.