Spanish police close major manga piracy site, prosecutors seek dismissal of case against Spain PM’s wife, administrative workers ‘overwhelmed’ by migrant regularisation process, and more news from Spain this Thursday April 23rd.
Spanish police close major manga piracy site
Spanish police said Wednesday they shut down what they described as the largest illegal Spanish-language online manga platform, which had operated for more than a decade and drew millions of users worldwide.
Authorities arrested three people in the southern province of Almería in connection with the site, which had offered free, unauthorised access to a “massive volume” of manga titles since 2014, Spain’s National Police said in a statement.
Officials estimate the site generated more than €4 million in revenue through aggressive advertising, mainly pop-up ads for pornography, raising concerns because of its large base of young users.
Police said the platform was “the largest online illicit distribution platform for manga in Spanish” with a “strong presence across the entire Spanish-speaking market”.
Prosecutors seek dismissal of graft case against Spain PM’s wife
Spanish public prosecutors said Wednesday they had requested the dismissal of a corruption case against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife, arguing the facts under investigation do not constitute a criminal offence.
The Begoña Gómez affair is one of several alleged corruption cases to have hit the Socialist leader’s family and former allies, putting pressure on his minority coalition government.
Investigating judge Juan Carlos Peinado opened an investigation in April 2024 to determine whether Gómez had exploited her position as Sánchez’s wife for private gain, allegations both she and the prime minister deny.
Earlier this month, he charged her with embezzlement, influence peddling, corruption in business dealings and misappropriation of funds after completing his investigation.
A Madrid provincial court must now decide whether Gómez will stand trial.
But the Madrid public prosecutor’s office on Tuesday appealed the judge’s ruling and asked the court to dismiss the case, saying “the facts do not constitute a criminal offence,” according to a statement on Wednesday.
Advertisement
Multi-property landlords own 60 percent of rental properties in Spain
A new study conducted by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) reveals that most rental properties belong to individuals and companies who own more than one property.
When it comes to private landlords who are individuals and not companies, a slight majority rent out two or more properties: 52.8 percent, compared to 47.2 percent who rent out only one.
It showed that within the last decade, instead of narrowing, the gap between those who own a single rental property and those who own multiple properties has widened. For example, between 2016 and 2023, small landlords (those who own one) increased their property holdings by 30.4 percent, while those with multiple rental properties increased theirs by 39.9 percent.
Advertisement
Administrative workers in Spain ‘overwhelmed’ by migrant regularisation process
This Thursday marks one week since applications opened for Spain’s mass migrant amnesty, in which over 500,000 undocumented migrants would be granted a one-year residency visa.
Already, however, social workers and organisations have complained of collapses and system failures, as well as overcrowding at the offices responsible for receiving applications and the establishments that issue the necessary documents to qualify for residency.
Immigration, Social Security, and Post Office staff – the offices designated for submitting applications – say they’ve been “overwhelmed” since day one and have been calling it a “minor disaster”. Many offices are backlogged with pending appointments, and others are even being forced to extend their closing times, unable to cope with the deluge of applications.
The government, however, maintains that the process is proceeding normally.
With additional reporting from AFP