Mar.15, 2010, 7:43 AM

The Ballena Blanca, White Whale, money laundering case based in Marbella, finally gets underway today, Monday.

At the centre of the case is the Chilean lawyer, Fernando del Valle, and it was the raid on his offices in Marbella in March 2005 and more than 50 arrests which saw the start of the case.

21 people remain charged of criminal activity and 41 counts of money laundering, with the prosecutor demanding sentences totalling 65 years in prison and more than 86 million € in fines.

It’s alleged that Fernando del Valle set up a network of companies to divert and launder 150 million €. He faces 15 years in prison and a 36 million € fine.

It’s the first of the massive cases which get underway this year, and as well as the accused being judged, the whole process is also under question. The performance of the specialist police anti-money laundering units, the Anti-corruption Prosecutor, and Instruction Judge Torres are all under examination.

The case will be heard Monday to Wednesday for some six months in Málaga, presided by the President of the Section II Court, Federico Morales.

Still to come to court are the other Málaga corruption cases, led by Malaya, and followed by Troya, Hidalgo, Astapa and Arcos.