Officers from the National Police leaving BCM earlier today. | Michel's

TW

Officers from the National Police's money laundering and economic crimes group (basically, the fraud squad) have today raided the BCM club in Magalluf, probably the best known of all the businesses within the Cursach Group; its name comes from the initials of its owner - Bartolomé Cursach Mas.

The raid follows those on Tuesday - Megapark, Megasport, Tito's, Pacha, Calvia town hall and the home of Tolo Cursach. He was one of three people arrested. The others were Tolo Sbert, the Cursach Group director-general, who was detained at the Cursach BH Mallorca Hotel in Magalluf, and Antoni Bergas, a former inspector with Palma police and now in charge of institutional relations for the Cursach Group.

Charges which are being levelled at all three include the corruption of minors, drug trafficking, bribery, coercion, extortion, money laundering, fraud and falsification of documents. They are expected to appear in court either tomorrow or Friday and are currently being held in custody at the National Police's headquarters.

The raid on Calvia town hall, and specifically the activities department (which deals with licences), was in order to search for evidence in respect of any alleged irregularities for the granting of a licence to BCM. Over a fortnight ago, Calvia town hall sacked a senior official - Jaume Nadal - after he had been exposed for having sought to prevent or at least delay an investigation into the licence.

It is understood that the Guardia Civil already have documentation from Calvia's activities department regarding BCM and that it was the Guardia's intervention which sparked off the town hall's investigation. A review of the BCM licence, it is further understood, goes back to the late 1980s.