Former mayor of Tolox cleared in illegal construction case

EX-Mayor of Tolox Juan Vera has cleared his name and will not go to prison. 

A Malaga appeals court ruled Vera was not responsible for breaking town planning laws when he authorised the construction of nearly 350 new homes in a protected rural area.

He had previously been sentenced to 15 years in prison and a 10-year ban from public office, but the latest ruling reverses the ex-mayor’s conviction.

Vera has maintained that he was unaware the construction was illegal and that he was simply following technicians’ advice, adding that he immediately cancelled the building licence after discovering a law had been broken.