That high-profile case nevertheless sent a message that Mallorca and the Balearics were not safe havens. The Russian oligarchy has therefore shown greater interest in the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol, said to be more "hospitable".
The wealthy owners are described as being one or two rungs below the oligarchs in terms of assets, and their purchase of properties is low compared with other foreign nationals - around two per cent of all foreign buyers. The Russian community in the Balearics is also not great. Latest figures point to there being 2,040 Russians residing on the islands.
The properties in Andratx and Calvia are mostly all for non-residents. They are holiday homes for Russians. There are also some Ukrainian owners, but Hans Lenz, president of the Balearic Association of National and International Real Estate Agents, says that they are "almost non-existent". "There was a Ukrainian industrialist who was looking for a house here a while ago, but we don't know if he finally found it."
Lenz adds that between the two markets - Russian and Ukrainian - "we are talking about one or two sales transactions a year at most".
The honorary consul of the Russian Federation in Mallorca, Sebastià Roig, says that the image of Russians living in the Balearics is generally distorted. It is assumed that they are all rich, but 99% are people from a normal working background, with a good number of them working in education. As to Russian tourists, he adds that they typically have medium to high purchasing power and are very interested in the beaches as well as gastronomy and culture.
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Taking the current situation into account, this article is highly inappropriate, distasteful and a serious misjudgment on the part of the editorial team at MDB. Almost without exception the global population is against what Russia is inflicting on Ukraine and whilst the fact that not all Russians are in favour of the current illegal conflict they (as a sovereign nation) are indirectly supporting their mad hat President. If they are not in favour (and many are not) they, and they alone, are the ones who can remove this madman from power and replace him with a more stable individual. As a consequence of the actions of their political leader, ALL Russians should be denied access to Spain and all other European countries, and until such time as the current conflict with Ukraine is resolved, all of their external assets should be put into some kind of administration. If and when ultimately their personal situation is clarified (i.e. their political preferences) ALL access should be denied and those who are Putin supporters should have their assets seized - irrespective of their level of personal wealth.
Russions of a normal background could not afford to buy any housee in Majorca let alone the fincas they have bought. The upkeep costs would be higher than the average wáge. Is Spai sequestrering them as other countries are. I fee that they should not be allowed to buy here. Or are we so disparate for their money