The main person under investigation for the largest property fraud in the Balearics is in hiding in Colombia. The Guardia Civil have identified 46-year-old Carlos García Roldán as the person behind the fraud, which has affected over 200 people and is now said to be worth as much as seven million euros.
An international warrant has been issued for his arrest. This followed the Wednesday raids by the Guardia Civil on six addresses in Palma and two in Barcelona. Seven people were arrested, with potential charges being fraud, criminal organisation and money laundering.
The operation was the result of a formal denunciation made in March. On behalf of a group of sixty people affected by the alleged fraud, lawyer Tomeu Salas denounced Roldán of Lujo Casa and the real-estate agency Mallorca Investment. Deposits for properties to supposedly be bought off-plan ranged from 100,000 to 200,000 euros. One of the people arrested on Wednesday was the owner of Mallorca Investment in Cala Major, an Italian, Michele P. Roldán, it is said, fled the island and Spain when he became aware that he had been denounced to the Guardia.
The properties, none of which have been built, were meant to have been in different parts of Majorca - Marratxi, including Pont d'Inca; Coll d'en Rabassa in Palma; Llucmajor; and Santa Ponsa.
