Stepson of Marbella mayor to be prosecuted over alleged drug and money laundering crimes

A judge at the upper Audiencia Nacional court in Madrid has explained in a summary of the case how a complex network was set up to source hashish and marijuana in Andalucía - principally in Malaga province - and send it to Scandinavia, where the price is five to six times more.

Joakim Broberg, who is the son of the mayor of Marbella's husband, Lars Broberg, from his first marriage, has been singled out by the inquiry as the supposed head of the gang.

Besides Joakim, the judge has identified two close collaborators: one allegedly made personal contacts and ran the tracking and transport; another acted almost as a business partner with the role of "administrator and financier" of the drug trafficking operation.

As well as setting out how the gang is alleged to have worked, the judge goes on to explain a network set up to launder the huge amounts of money earned from the drugs.

This is where the name of Lars, father of Joakim (from Lars' first marriage) and now husband of the mayor of Marbella appears. Lars Broberg has been told he will not be prosecuted for the time being for health reasons - the judge cannot be sure that he would be well enough to defend himself, although this decision will be reviewed from time to time.

The judge has listed eight people who supposedly were used by Joakim Broberg to launder funds. One is an Egyptian who is linked to the purchase of shop units for restaurants, where 250,000 euros was supposedly laundered, or a couple of investments in real estate were almost 1.5 million euros was allegedly moved.

The judge goes on to explain that Joakim Broberg - who avoided the first arrests and was finally tracked down in Brazil - had the support of top experts in finance and the use of offshore tax havens to hide the origin of the funds.

The total amount laundered, in the opinion of the judge, totalled 7,300,820 euros. Joakim used the offices of Wasa Consulting, in Centro Plaza shopping centre in Nueva Andalucía, Marbella. A large number of the companies linked to Joakim as well as his father Lars Broberg originated there.

The investigation has pointed a finger directly at Joakim in six money-laundering operations, and in half of those, the judge has said his father is implicated at a company director level.

These are: the purchase of a property in Marbella through a Panama company (and so allegedly laundering 230,000 euros); the setting up of companies as a front for other real estate deals; the sale of gold in exchange for cash or deposits in foreign bank accounts (894.000 euros); the purchase of two mansions (3m euros and 2m euros) and three estates (1.4m euros).

The judge has dedicated a chapter of his report to a man identified as an officer with the town's Local Police who "without doubt was providing restricted police information at Joakim's request and receiving cash in return," the report says. Previously this officer formed part of the bodyguard team of Ángeles Muñoz.