15-year Spanish investigation sees John Palmer face jail

ONCE nicknamed Goldfinger for his involvement in the Brink’s-MAT robbery in 1983, where six robbers broke into the bank’s warehouse at Heathrow Airport, notorious gangster John Palmer is facing a sentence of up to 15 years in a Spanish prison, accused of heading a crime empire from the comfort of his UK jail cell.

Jailed at the Old Bailey back in 2001 after accumulating a cool £300 million in a massive timeshare fraud, which saw thousands of British holidaymakers being ripped off, Palmer was once believed to be the UK’s richest criminal.

Years later, he has been charged with similar illegal activities, only now here in Spain, ranging from fraud, firearm possession and money laundering, according to The Mirror newspaper.

Joining Palmer, are ten other alleged members of his criminal gang, including partner Christina Ketley and nephews Andrew Palmer and Darren Morris, who have also been charged.

Having been on bail for the past eight years after he was arrested in Tenerife in July 2007, these arrests mark the end of a 15-year Spanish investigation.

Speaking on the possibility of returning to jail, the 65-year-old is reported to be dreading incarceration, especially since he recently suffered a heart scare.

A source close to the investigation told The Mirror: “Prosecutors have been working away behind the scenes for years and they now believe they have enough evidence to put him on trial.”

Another source close to Palmer himself, confessed to the newspaper: “John desperately does not want to go back to prison and believed the case would be dropped.”