Suspected gangster's wife Nicola Morrissey banned from selling five million euro Costa del Sol mansion

Nicola Morrissey, wife of a suspected gangster linked to the Irish Kinahan gang, has been banned from selling her five million-euros home on the Costa del Sol following her arrest for suspected money laundering.

And the glamorous Scot and her alleged Kinahan ally husband Johnny have landed themselves in hot water with the Spanish taxman by raking up huge debts which have led to six-figure embargoes on the mansion.

Papers show Spanish tax authorities have already placed two liens totalling more than 130,000 euros on the luxury property where Glasgow-born Nicola boasted about her future plans for their drinks firm Nero Drinks, which police have described as a front for her husband’s alleged criminal activities.

Other central and regional government agencies owed money have also registered a charge against the house in a residential street a 20-minute drive from Marbella where the couple lived shortly before their September 2022 arrests.

A court order laid bare in official documents prevents Nicola, the registered sole owner of the property on paper although as former Rochdale doorman Johnny’s wife she has a 50 per cent share in practice, from selling or transferring it.

And well-placed sources said last night the debts the likes of the Spanish taxman are trying to recover by filing their claim against the house could lead to its eventual forced sale if they continue to mount up.

One said: “The liens that are already recorded against the property are quite likely going to be the tip of the iceberg.

“There may well be other debts for higher amounts that are still working their way through the system and will eventually also become a matter of public record.

“The fact Spanish tax authorities are pursuing debts is obviously going to be linked to non-payment of taxes.”

Another insider, referencing a four-figure lien registered against the property by Malaga’s Provincial Taxation Board, added: “That points towards a failure to pay the UK equivalent of Council Tax to the local town hall.”

Morrissey and his wife, who are still under official investigation on suspicion of money laundering and membership of a criminal gang despite being on bail, opened up the doors of the mansion for an interview with Marbella-based business and lifestyle magazine Exclusive Life shortly before their arrests.

Mum-of-two Nicola, 49, spoke about their plans to open a wellness centre near La Cala de Mijas a 20-minute drive east towards Malaga at another property she and Johnny lived at years ago.

She gushed alongside photos of them showing off the mansion: “A busy year for sure. Nero Drinks Company will continue to support and work with local venues, adding more to our client list as well as launching in Majorca, Tenerife, the UK and we are finalising plans to launch in America.”

She added in the interview, titled ‘At Home With Nicola Morrissey’: “We are also opening an exclusive, five-star wellness retreat overlooking the sea in La Cala.

“We have been busy overseeing the luxury building project, gathering an expert team to deliver the latest therapies and treatments.

“We will have a full-time nutritionist, in-house yoga and meditation specialist, colonic hydrotherapy, cryotherapy and lots more.”

Nicola and her husband moved to the mansion near Marbella from the place where they planned to start up the wellness retreat which has yet to get off the ground.

They quit it just a couple of months before their arrests for a nearby rented apartment in an alleged bid to “lie low” after Morrissey was outed by US authorities as the Kinahans’ "banker" and alleged enforcer.

Earlier this month it emerged the Spanish probe that led to the arrest of the 66-year-old British-born Irish passport holder and two other suspects including Nicola, has been massively expanded with around 20 people now under investigation.

It is still being coordinated by an investigating court in Marbella but because of its complexity prosecutors specialising in economic crimes based in Malaga have been brought in to help.

No charges have yet been laid, as is normal in Spain where prosecutors are invited to submit indictments shortly before trial once behind-closed-doors probes that can take years to complete are finalised.

Morrissey and his wife were held on September 12 2022 six months after the US Treasury identified the Costa del Sol-based former doorman in a list of Kinahan cartel key members, saying: “Morrissey has worked for the Kinahan organised crime group for several years, including as an enforcer, and facilitates international drug shipments for the organisation from South America.

“John Morrissey is also involved in money laundering.”

The Spanish Civil Guard said after his arrest they believed he had allegedly helped crime gangs launder up to 350,000 euros a day over the 18 months their investigation lasted.

The informal Hawala method of moving money said to have been used, originating from an Arabic term for transfer or trust and involving a network of brokers, is known to have been adopted by criminal gangs who use code numbers or tokens like banknotes torn in half to prove cash is due.

His detention followed a much-celebrated police infiltration of EncroChat, an encrypted communications service widely used by criminals, between March and June 2020.

In November 2024 Spanish court officials revealed they had called on Dubai for help over Morrissey and were awaiting the results of a rogatory commission sent to the Middle East city-state where alleged crime kingpin Daniel Kinahan was held earlier this month on an international arrest warrant issued by Ireland.

Andalucia’s High Court of Justice said last week of the ongoing Morrissey probe: “The case is still in preliminary proceedings. It is a very complex money laundering case due to all the international connections that were being investigated.

"Initially three people were arrested. All three are free with conditions attached to their provisional release after posting bail.

"But the investigation has progressed and now around 20 suspects have been identified, ten of whom have been located.”

Spanish police sources have also confirmed the operation that led to Morrissey’s arrest was key to the takedown of the ruthless Lyons gang late last month.

Alleged gang leader Steven Lyons, 45, faces extradition to Spain after being held in Amsterdam on a European Arrest Warrant following his flight from Dubai and deportation from Bali.

Lyons’ wife Amanda was held in Dubai. Seven other suspects including Amanda’s sister Rebecca Hayes, 32, were arrested in Spain on suspicion of money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation.