Judge sentenced to jail term
The Supreme Court of Justice in Andalucía has sentenced judge Francisco Javier de Urquía to two years in prison for bribery and corruption.
Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía was, until now, the head of the Magistrates Court Number Two in Marbella but his involvement with Juan Antonio Roca, the alleged brains behind the ‘Malaya’ corruption scandal, has put an end to all that.
In addition to a two year jail term, de Urquía has been disqualified from holding public office for a total of seventeen years and fined €36,000.
Juan Antonio Roca was also given a one year prison term for bribery but a third defendant, Arnaud Fabrice A., a link between de Urquia and Roca, was acquitted.
Judge Francisco Javier de Urquía received a total of €73,800 from Juan Antonio Roca to help buy a house, agreeing in exchange to exercise ‘favourable treatment in judicial favours’.
One specific case of ‘judicial favour’ occurred on March 6th 2006. A local TV programme, critical of Juan Antonio Roca, was due to be shown that same evening but, at the request of Roca, the judge ordered its suspension without the right of appeal by either party.
