Entrance to the headquarters of the National Court of Justice in Madrid, in an image file.GUSTAVO VALIENTE (EUROPA PRESS VIA GETTY IMAGES)
The anti-drug prosecution is requesting 22 years in prison for Joakim Peter Broberg, stepson of Ángeles Muñoz, mayor of Marbella (Malaga) for the PP. The Public Ministry places him at the head of one of the factions that formed a complex “criminal organization” dedicated to the marijuana and hashish trade, investigated by the National Court, and in which Lars Gunnar Sune Broberg was also implicated in money laundering operations. the councilman's late husband. “Joakim Peter Broberg acts as director and is responsible for maintaining contacts with suppliers and customers,” emphasizes the public prosecutor’s office in its indictment dated October 5, to which EL PAÍS had access.
Antidrug describes a complicated conspiracy consisting mainly of Swedish citizens, with tentacles based in Spain and other countries. And where the stepson played a prominent role. According to the ministry, Joakim Broberg participated in marijuana deliveries from Spain to France and had a group of associates who carried out his plans outside the law. “Joakim maintained contacts with various substance suppliers – such as the one known under the pseudonym Canaryegg [el sistema de mensajería encriptada] EncroChat – to supply substances from Morocco that would reach Spain by ship.” Anti-Drugs claims that it was a real “criminal group” that had “contacts” with members of other drug networks and had a “manager and Financier” (Marko Mikael Holmen) for the drug trade.
“Holmen guards the money of Joakim Broberg, who asks him for cash when he needs it. “Even to pay for her children's schooling,” says the indictment, which insists that her father – the mayor's late husband – was involved in the complex money laundering operations allegedly set up to launder criminal money. The State Ministry, which uncovered a corporate conspiracy with companies in tax havens, also suspects various real estate purchases and sales as well as a transaction for 20 kilos of gold that Joakim Broberg received in 2019 as “settlement of a debt from Africa”.
From left to right: the photos of Andres Nilsson, Ivan Cicak and Joakim Broberg, who in this case were also investigated by the National Court for drug trafficking.
For all these reasons, the prosecutor's office attributes to the mayor's stepson a crime of drug trafficking “committed within an organization and its leadership,” as well as a crime of money laundering and another of bribery. He is seeking a sentence of 22 years in prison and a fine of over 30 million euros.
The ministry is also charging 28 other people. Among them was Rafael Gallego, an officer with the local police in Marbella. Anti-drug claims that he worked with the stepson to pass on data to him in exchange for money, for which he also attributes the crime of bribery to him – although he demands that this part be sent to the court in Málaga so that this can happen there tried by a jury. . “During the period in which Joakim Broberg carries out the activities described, he maintains contacts with Gallego, who provides him with limited information in exchange for cash for police purposes only, and the actual amount received, money and information exchanged in meetings “Can’t be.” “To be determined. Personal, leaving no trace,” the indictment says.
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With this, anti-drug members deal a serious blow to Joakim Peter Broberg, who was born 51 years ago in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Criminal Chamber of the National Court confirmed his indictment back in January 2023, concluding that there was enough evidence to put him on the bench – although no scheduled date has yet been set for the trial – and pointed out his father for three counts of money laundering -Operations worth 6.3 million euros. At this point, the public prosecutor's office had already stopped bringing charges against the mayor's husband because his health was very poor. In fact, Lars Gunnar Sune Broberg finally died in March 2023 at the age of 79.
In this summary, the Public Ministry bases its allegations on the long investigation carried out before the Investigative Court 6 of the National Court, led by Judge Manuel García-Castellón. In his rulings, the judge also describes the international conspiracy of drug sales and money laundering through shell companies and real estate transactions carried out from the Costa del Sol city. This criminal network allegedly consisted of “various branches”. And according to the investigation, Joakim Peter Broberg was the “boss” of one of them; and his father, husband of the mayor of Marbella, helped him launder drug money. Legal sources said the defendants had until Tuesday to submit their defense briefs.
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“In the first half of September 2019 [Joakim y Lars] they agree [con uno de sus socios, Marko Mikael Holmen] “to create a company capable of issuing invoices and thus introducing illegal funds into the legal circuit,” emphasized García-Castellón, describing one of the alleged money laundering operations, as detailed in the indictment filed against both of them. “The character of Joakim represents business value for Holmen due to his knowledge of the real estate business in the region and his influence in the city of Marbella,” the judge added. The criminal court also had an influence on this and found that the son had “fluid” contacts with other suspected human traffickers.
Ángeles Muñoz, mayor of Marbella and former PP senator, in the upper house in December 2022. Kiko Huesca (EFE)
Macro operation against drug trafficking
The Brobergs were arrested in 2021 as part of a major operation targeting marijuana and hashish trafficking that resulted in 71 arrests. When they were arrested, Ángeles Muñoz defended the “honesty” and “professional career” of her husband, a businessman dedicated to the real estate industry. For his part, the mayor's stepson called all these accusations “baseless” and “baseless.” His defense, led by lawyer Sylvia Córdoba in collaboration with lawyer Sergio Nuño Díez de la Lastra, reiterated his innocence this Tuesday in an interview with EL PAÍS: “Money laundering has not been proven, let alone drug trafficking,” emphasizes Córdoba.
The PSOE tried to exploit the Broberg case against Ángeles Muñoz. A socialist councilor from the Málaga City Council even tried to appear as a prosecutor before the National Court, but García-Castellón refused because he found no evidence against the city council: “In fact, no official is mentioned who…” actions or omissions could be linked to the are related to the above-mentioned crimes, and there is no mention of any improper use of public funds. “These facts also do not show that the Marbella City Council was abused to carry out possible money laundering,” the judge said.
Before Muñoz left the Senate, the Socialists also called on the upper house to open a popular file to investigate his assets, arguing that he had “hidden extremely relevant information” from the Cortes Generales and violated several tenets of his code of conduct. They accused him of “falsifying” data with the “most likely” aim of “covering up the alleged criminal activities of those close to him and concealing the resulting unlawful enrichment.” Despite everything, the Andalusian PP showed its support and repeated its candidacy in the last local elections, when it reconfirmed its office with an absolute majority.
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