AceShowbiz - Sir Sean Connery has been ordered by a Spanish judge to contribute to a $76.5 million bond as part of an ongoing money-laundering and property fraud investigation. Judge Ricardo Puyol named the James Bond star as one of the individuals who must deposit the combined sum as surety in the probe into a number of property deals, including the 1998 sale of the actor's beachfront mansion near Marbella, Spain.

Connery and his wife Micheline made $8.4 million in the sale but allegedly failed to pay $2 million to the local authority. The property was knocked down to allow for 72 luxury apartments to be built, despite planning permission for just five family houses. The condominiums were said to have yielded a $75 million profit.

Connery was given ten days to pay his undisclosed contribution or risk the impounding of personal assets, according to Britain's Daily Telegraph. The 80-year-old star failed to appear at a Spanish court to testify in October, citing age and unspecified health problems.