THE ex-Marbella sports councillor, Carlos Fernandez, who fled Spain in 2006 to avoid corruption charges in the infamous Malay Case, will not serve any prison time.
The crooked politician returned to the country last month after living in Argentina.
He was arrested at Madrid Airport and taken into the custody of the National Court.
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A solicitor for the former councillor told a judge in 2006 that his client was in Galicia doing the Camino de Santiago walk and would return ‘immediately’ if needed- but he never did.
The Malay Case was regarded as the biggest case of council corruption in Spain with leading figures jailed and fined.
A deal with prosecutors meant that Fernandez admitted to embezzling public money and forging documents.
In a court hearing on Wednesday, he plead guilty to both counts and was fined €4,095.
He was also ordered to repay Marbella City Council, a sum of €258,678.31- a civil liability figure they had requested.
The plea deal with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office significantly reduced the initial sentences, which included a year and a half in prison for embezzlement and three months for document forgery.
The Malay Case covered corruption within the Marbella authority between 1991 and 1999 where €70 million was diverted via public and private companies in regard to illegal contract awards.
There was also an estimated €91 million defrauded from Social Security.
In 2013, the National Court convicted former mayor Julian Muñoz- now dead- and ex-urban planning consultant Juan Antonio Roca for embezzling public money.
Fernandez flew back to Spain on October 29 after striking a deal with prosecutors.
He had been arrested in Argentina in 2019 but judges denied Spain’s extradition request three years ago- despite the fact emerging that he was living illegally in the South American country.
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