POLICE in Alicante are investigating the close circle and business activities of the former CAM bank director and his widow, the latter of whom was found shot dead in a 4x4 on a motor dealership forecourt this week.
They initially believed María del Carmen Martínez's murder to be a robbery, since the family is extremely wealth and is said to live a luxurious lifestyle.
But after further inquiry, officers are more inclined to think a hitman was behind her death.
A family feud centred on the business is said to be no secret – after CAM chairman Vicente Sala died, the reins of his empire were placed in the hands of his son, also called Vicente, along with the majority share capital giving him a veto on any decisions.
The three daughters were fighting this, police reveal, and a court in Alicante had upheld their appeal.
Vicente Junior was due to take over the businesses and the share capital upon the death of his father and mother, María del Carmen Martínez; if his mother survived Vicente Senior, it would all go to her first, according to the company statutes the daughters were battling against.
But the son had recently taken control of the empire with his mother's backing, before her death.
On the day she was found shot in the head on the new and used car dealership forecourt which the family owned, María del Carmen, 72, was due to meet with a notary in Alicante and, later this week, with a prestigious firm of solicitors in Madrid specialising in mercantile law.
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