This innocent man today speaks of his horror at learning that his home has been wrongly identified as a hub for crime lord Christy Kinahan.
Cristobal Garre Murcial (52), whose first name in English is Christopher, was stunned to learn that his address in San Pedro De Alcantara, Marbella, Spain, was publicly identified by the US Department of Treasury as being directly linked to Kinahan (65) this week.
“I own this house. I have lived here for a long, long time,” Mr Murcial, who is a respected lawyer and council worker told The Star, as he invited us into the villa on Friday.
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“My family have been here for 51 years. I lived here with my parents and grew up here.
We then showed him the press release by the US Treasury Department which named his full address as being connected to Christopher Kinahan Snr – the leader of an international criminal cartel.
“Who is this person?” he asked. “Is he a drugs gangster?” he asked.
We explained in detail, showing him multiple photos of the crime boss and we explained how Kinahan is regarded as one of Ireland’s most dangerous gangsters – to which he expressed shock.
“My father built this house. My father was a stonemason. He worked with natural stone.
“He died 12 years ago and my mother four years ago.
“I am their son and the house is in my name,” he said.
He then explained that as many as 15 years ago, the property, which was specifically designed by an architect for his father – was in fact rented out to another man – though he was confident that it was not Kinahan.
“Probably 12 years ago or more than that time, maybe 15 years ago, they needed money so they rented the house.
“But I do not know that person (Kinahan), because I made all the contracts for the rental. I do not remember that person.
“He was never here. In this house, never.
“I have never seen this person,” he said.
We asked if any journalist has ever approached him about the house, which this week was identified as part of a major announcement by the US Treasury Department, Gardai and the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) that Kinahan Sr, his sons Daniel and Christy Jr, were to be hit with international sanctions.
The US authorities also issued an unprecedented $5 million reward for any information about the Kinahans.
“No journalists have ever come here. This is very strange for me,” Cristobal admitted.
“If you want to come in and have a look, there’s no problem,” he added before bringing us into the luxurious property and showing us his swimming pool and stunning grounds.
We showed Cristobal the press release by the US Treasury Department again, to which stated his address and he again confirmed – “This is my home.”
“I am a counsellor of the town hall. I came to live here when I was 15 years old.
“I work as a counsellor of employment and business. I saw everybody who rented the house because I made all the contracts.
“We rented the house twice. But not to the person in the photo.
“I have never seen this person,” he said.
When we asked him again if he believed it might be possible that the address we were showing him that was published by the US authorities could be another address, Mr Garre said no.
“That is this address of course. But I don’t know why it is there.”
When we asked was he surprised that his home had been named by the US authorities he said “of course. I don’t know why.”
He insisted that he was not a criminal and had no links whatsoever to criminality, when asked.
“Of course not. I work for the town hall.
We asked if it was possible that Christy Kinahan Sr could have been in his house without his knowledge – to which he accepted he could have been at some point.
“Possibly. But it is strange because I do not remember the name and I do not recognise the face.
“I was the person who sorted the contracts for my father and I do not remember the name and I do not remember the photo.
“The house was rented around 2005. I’ve been here for 15 years.
“They must be mistaking it for another house. This is very strange for me.
“This is the first time that I’ve heard anything about this."
Our crime team observed Cristobal entering and leaving the property this week. And during our observations, our reporter’s couldn’t help but notice some physical resemblance to Christy Kinahan himself.
We later joked with the respected counsellor about how he does somewhat resemble a younger Kinahan – to which he laughed and said “do you think so?”
Asked what he wanted to say to the US authorities, who have identified his house as being connected to Christy Kinahan Sr he said: “The police are mistaken of course.
“I would be happy for them to clarify this. It’s false."
When contacted a Garda spokesperson told The Star: “As your query relates to a press release issued by the US Treasury Department, they may be better positioned to assist you with your query."
The US Treasury Department did not return a comment before this article went to print.
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