Robbing the dead

Homes

of deceased expats worth over €3 million stolen in elaborate scam

A GANG targeted up to a dozen dead expats with no apparent heirs to steal 20 properties worth over €3 million. The unscrupulous thieves, who included funeral parlour and nursing home workers, also took jewellery, cash and other assets when bodies were left unclaimed.

The majority of victims were non-Spaniards, and included at least one Brit and eight Germans.

The homes of at least 22 elderly victims, including four in Paris, were raided by the gang.

So far, eight people have been detained between Denia and Calpe as well as Sopelana in the French Basque province of Biscay.

The driving force behind the fraud were a brother and sister from Sopelana, with the woman, 63, owning real estate agencies in Denia, Bilbao and Cantabria.

Her sibling, 54, was in charge of an insurance brokerage.

It’s believed they planned to flee Spain after they became aware of the police operation, which is ongoing. Their associates included two workers at a Marina Alta funeral parlour; a nursing home employee; and a former council worker in the region. Inquiries began in May 2021 after police learnt that a house belonging to a deceased person in Benissa had been illegally broken into.

The funeral home workers allegedly entered the property and stole jewellery and a Harley motorcycle. The keys were passed onto other gang members who carried out some improvements to the property before letting it out.

The modus operandi involved the undertakers setting up illegal home seizures once the body of a deceased person remained unclaimed. They then contacted the bosses in France who would either sell or rent out the properties.

A former Marina Alta council employee helped with the illegal transfer of property deeds and registration while a nursing home worker got hold of personal documents and bank access codes belonging to the dead victims.

The gang allegedly made over €112,000 from two bank accounts belonging to German and Swiss deceased residents alone.

Items removed by officers in house raids included cash, over 100 items of jewellery, eight cars, and a cryptocurrency wallet.

Tram boost

TWO new tram lines and an extension have been confirmed for Valencia city. Metrovalencia 11 will connect the city centre with Marítim-El Grau, and L12 will link the centre with Malilla and La Fe hospital. Meanwhile Line 10 will have its Nazaret terminus extended to La Marina and La Malvarrosa.

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION

Desperate action

MARK Saxby’s decision to go on hunger strike over his denial for residency is certainly taking matters to the extreme.

But you have to admire his tenacity in contacting the European Commission and the Ombudsman to argue that he didn’t get enough time to submit proof of health insurance ahead of the January 2021 deadline.

That was an error on his part as rules changed some years ahead of Brexit which demanded all EU incomers to show they had enough money in the bank as well as health cover.

But the UK Withdrawal Agreement did allow for two months for mistakes to be cleared up.

And what was certainly not his fault was the autumn 2020 appointments logjam caused by the Covid pandemic. Moreover he is paying taxes into the Spanish system and just wants to be a good citizen rather than a villain who wants to live ‘under the radar’.

Surely some common sense from authorities is in order so that he can enjoy a hearty meal as soon as possible.

Easter warning

SO often have the Semana Santa processions been cancelled to the disappointment of millions that it’s become a bit of a running joke that ‘it always rains at Easter in Spain’.

This year, we could be forgiven for hoping the joke is fulfilled.

Much of Spain, as we report on page 8, is officially in drought. As reservoirs dry up, rain is desperately needed, with crops threatened.

Indeed, even a bishop has got involved to lead a special mass to call for rain (see back page).

But the real answer is, of course, nothing to do with prayer. There can be no doubt that climate change is taking effect.

It may be too late to reverse the damage, but it is within the power of all of us to at least try to stop things getting worse. Governments and big business must get their act together and take action much faster to combat CO2 emissions. Otherwise we had better all start praying.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Anthony Piovesan anthony@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

ADMIN Sandra Aviles Diaz (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es