Fury in pretty Spanish town as Brits sold £436k 'illegal' villas by ex-mayor

A former mayor of Lliber (Alicante), Jose Mas, has been convicted of fraud over licences granted to build 290 illegal villas. The Spanish properties were marketed to UK and European buyers at between €300,000 (£262,000) and €500,000 (£436,000).

Construction took place in the Marina Alta region town between 1999 and 2003 on land which was classified as "non-developable". Prospective buyers were given assurances that there would be no problems, but were left high and dry as builders "vanished" before everything was finished. It was revealed in 2009 that a British pensioner couple had to fork out an extra €20,000 (£17,400) to get their villa completed, only to discover there was no water or electricity connection. They then found out that they held an illegal licence from the local council, produced by the municipal architect, Amador Signes, who got paid to execute the fraud.

Building licences were granted to non-Spaniards to have their dream homes constructed with the help of fake reports approved by plenary meetings of the Lliber council. The Alicante Provincial Court said many of those affected by the scam "would not have bought land and had homes built if they had known about the difficulties and illegalities regarding construction".

Jose Mas, Amador Signes, and three developers were found guilty of fraud. They were each given two-year prison terms, which they will not serve as they were first offences. A mitigating factor in the court's "lowish" sentence was the "undue delay" in bringing the case to trial, which eventually took place in May.

It stated that dozens of purchasers from the UK and other countries were deceived over permission to build the villas.

Mr Mas and Mr Signes were also fined €1,800 (£1,570) each for the crime of urban prevarication. Both were also barred from holding any roles for three years related to public administration management, construction, and architecture.

Two other developers were acquitted of fraud and urban prevarication. Also cleared of urban prevarication were three councillors at the time of illegal approval being granted, including the current Lliber mayor, Jose Juan Reus.

Two ex-councillors died before the matter was resolved after initial arrests of some of those accused, all the way back in 2009.

It's not surprising that so many Brits wish to buy a property in the pretty Lliber village. Located in the province of Alicante in the autonomous community of Valencia, Lliber is one of several villages in the area known as Vall de Pop, a valley in the interior of the Marina Alta region.

The main focal point of Lliber is the beautiful, 19th century neoclassical church of San Cosme y San Damián, with its stunning bell tower. The town is also famous for its arched “Riu Rau” buildings, built originally to turn the local Moscatel grapes into raisins by protecting them from the rain in the drying process. They were subsequently used to store almonds and olives. The central plaza is the hub of the pueblo. There are three bars serving excellent tapas.