Spain blocks Gaddafi plans to build luxury flats.

Spain blocks Gaddafi's attempts to build on Costa del Sol

Spain has blocked plans by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to build nearly 2,000 luxury flats on a property he owns in the country’s southern Costa del Sol region, Foreign Ministry sources said Wednesday. The complex in Benahavis, in the Malaga province, would also have included a golf course and a congress centre. The project was blocked in order to prevent Gaddafi from profiting from it economically, the sources said. The measure was based on sanctions approved by the United Nations Security Council and by the European Union against the Libyan regime. Spain is investigating whether Gaddafi has other properties or financial assets in the country, the sources said. Gaddafi made a private visit to Malaga in December 2007. Source: Monsters and Critics

Tenerife, Canaries and mainland Spain appealing to Russians

Spain, Tenerife and the Canary Isles, have  not lost their appeal with affluent Russian buyers, finds a new study. Along with Bulgaria, Turkey, The US and Israel, SpainRussian's finding property in Tenerife, the Canary Islands and Spain to their liking. is one of the most popular overseas destinations amongst affluent Russian house-hunters, according to a study by real estate agents  and mortgage brokers Lowel.

Russians buying in Spain spend between 50,000 and 150,000 Euros on flats, and 300,000 plus Euros on Villas. At the very top end, Russians in Spain have some of the biggest budgets of all, often in the multi-million Euro bracket.

Nevertheless, Russian demand is feeling the pinch of the economic crisis this year. Russians are expected to spend 9.3 billion Euros – 10% less than last year  on property abroad.