The wife of one of the world’s favourite James Bond actors, Sean Connery, is to stand trial over tax fraud allegations involving the sale of a mansion the couple owned in Spain.
Micheline Roquebrune faces a prison sentence of up to two and a half years and a fine of more than 16 million pounds if found guilty of charges that she took part in a complex operation to defraud Spanish authorities of nearly 5.5 million pounds during the sale of the couple’s home in the Costa del Sol region in the south of the country.
Sean acquited Sir Sean, 85, was also investigated over the alleged fraud but was told last year that he would not face trial after declaring his innocence in a 56-page affidavit, The Daily Telegraph reported. But the judge had said he would continue his investigation into Roquebrune’s part in alleged irregularities in the sale of Casa Malibu, the home in the coastal town of Marbella that the couple owned for more than 20 years.
A letter will now be sent to the Bahamas where the couple lives, informing the actor’s French-Moroccan second wife of the court’s decision and ordering her to appoint a defence lawyer.
The allegations centre on the sale of Casa Malibu in 1999 and the fact that the house was later demolished. More than 70 flats, later sold for an estimated 45 million pounds, were built in its place, despite planning regulations stipulating that only five flats could be built on the site.
Prosecutors allege that Roquebrune collaborated with lawyers and businessmen charged in the so-called “Operation Goldfinger” case — named after one of Connery’s most famous 007 outings — to formalise “fictitious legal transactions” so that profits obtained during the sale of Casa Malibu could be hidden from the taxman.
Sixteen defendants, including a former mayor of Marbella and two lawyers, are all due to be tried early next year on charges including tax fraud and receiving bribes.
