Costa del Sol real estate scam 200 Brits affected

Several searches of real estate companies were carried out in Fuengirola and Mijas yesterday in connection with an alleged fraud which is thought to have affected hundreds of British citizens.The scam consisted in offering investment in what turned out to be false construction projects on the Costa del Sol, according to La Opinión de Málaga this morning.One Briton affected by this made a complaint to the British courts and they have sent a commission to the Costa to investigate. The British judiciary gave the information to the National Court in Spain, which in turn passed it on to the courts in Fuengirola.The swoops yesterday, in both homes and businesses, were carried out by the Central Operations Unit of the Guardia Civil, and it’s thought that several people will now face charges.Meanwhile in what is described as a parallel operation, the Anti-corruption Prosecutor ordered searches of two ‘little known’ lawyers in Mijas. The investigation is into allegations of money laundering, not thought to be linked to the real estate scam.
The scam consisted of offering investments in real estate projects on the Costa via companies in financial havens, with the value of the supposed projects, many of them rural, multiplied in some cases tenfold. Many of the contacts were made over the Internet. The total amount defrauded as none of the projects came to fruition is some 65 million €. The case is being instructed in court two in Fuengirola and started to be investigated by the authorities two years ago.The Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor has been working closely with the British authorities on the case, and sent several officers to the U.K. to interview nine victims there.Two people were arrested by the Guardia Civil on Tuesday as searches were carried out in businesses and homes in Fuengirola and Mijas on Tuesday and Wednesday. The judge has called 20 people of different nationalities to give evidence in the case as investigations continue.