MALLORCA TODAY - John Hirst sentencing: the Hirst case and this blog

John Hirst has been jailed for nine years, Richard Pollett to six and a half years and Hirst's estranged wife, Linda, to two and a half years. The sentences relate to money laundering and fraud, the consequence of the illegal Ponzi scheme that Hirst established with its base in Calvià.

This case wouldn't necessarily have been one that I would have followed as closely as I have, had it not been for the fact that back in November 2009 a series of messages were sent to this blog with regard to Hirst and his wife.

These messages followed a short news item on the blog referring to an investigation that had been launched by the Serious Fraud Office. The most revealing were a couple which, because of a photo that had been published of Hirst, said that he was the same John Hirst who had committed a fraud when working for Allied Dunbar in the early 1990s. There were others, e.g. "what about Linda?"

The point is that these messages came before the Allied Dunbar connection was made public in the established press, the first mention of which, as far as I was aware, was on 22 November. I thought hard about whether to publish these messages and decided not to in case they might compromise the SFO investigation and advised those who sent messages to contact the SFO.

Had I published them, then, again as far as I am aware, this would have been the first time the Allied Dunbar connection would have become known. Perhaps I should have done, but it was to be only a few days later that the "Sunday Telegraph" mentioned Hirst and Allied Dunbar.

The other point is that the messages showed how powerful the internet can be. A simple item posted on the blog was picked up on widely, and the messages came in. Those who sent the messages will now feel vindicated by the fact that Hirst and others have received their sentences.

MALLORCA TODAY - Matas gets six years

The sentencing of ex-Balearics president Jaume Matas and others in the first trial to do with the "caso Palma Arena" has resulted in Matas being given a six-year sentence.

Journalist Antonio Alemany has received a three-year and nine-month sentence; former government director of communication Joan Martorell has been condemned to a year and a half and head of PR company Nimbus, Miguel Romero, has received a sentence of one year, one month and 15 days.

Matas has been found guilty of abuse of public office, false accounting, fraud and misappropriation. The facts of this part of the Palma Arena case had to do with payments to businesses operated by the some-time journalist with the "El Mundo" newspaper, Antonio Alemany, which amounted to some half a million euros during Matas' period of office between 2003 and 2007.

The payments, described as totally unnecessary by prosecutors, were for articles that were favourable to the president and his government, while some other articles never actually appeared. In addition, Alemany, with government funds, was able to create a news website and news agency. This website is among those reporting the declarations by the court, one of which describes Alemany as "fiercely independent except when it comes to money and power".

Lawyers for Matas and Alemany have said that they will appeal against the sentences, while for the moment it is unclear whether they will enter prison immediately or not. The public prosecution had said that if the sentence for Matas was longer than five years that he should go straight inside, but it seems that no demand has been made on preventive grounds, i.e. that Matas might leave the country. As he has had his passport withdrawn anyway, this might seem unlikely. Ratification of the sentence by the Supreme Court could also delay any entrance into prison, and the delay could be as long as a year. Meantime, there will be other parts of the "caso Palma Arena" to be heard.

MALLORCA TODAY - First Matas sentence to be delivered tomorrow (20 March)

Prosecutors, lawyers and accused have been called to attend court in Palma at 11am tomorrow (20 March) to hear the decision of the court in respect of the first trial of ex-Balearics president Jaume Matas and others that took place in January. Prosecutors have called for a prison sentence of eight and a half years for the former president.