The
OLIVE PRESS
Mijas Costa SAN JAVIER
The box is open
Your expat
voice in Spain
VALENCIA / COSTA AZAHAR FREE Vol. 1 Issue 23 www.theolivepress.es October 7th - October 20th 2021
Hot on the trail Olive Press Editor Jon Clarke crisscrossed Spain and Portugal in his unrelenting search for prime suspect in the Maddie McCann case, Christian Brueckner. Read how he traced him to a hippie enclave hidden in the Granada mountains
See page 10
NAMED: Schiffer & Guardiola A HOST of Spanish gangsters, oligarchs and celebrities have been caught up in a giant offshore tax scandal. Former king Juan Carlos, football manager Pep Guardiola and singer Miguel Bose, are among the biggest Spanish names stung in the so-called Pandora Papers. But it is the Italian gangster Raffaele Amato, who was arrested in Malaga, model Claudia Schiffer, who has a home in Mallorca, and Julio Iglesias, who lives in Marbella, that will be of most interest locally. All of them have been exposed as having offshore accounts alongside at least five Spanish politicians in the giant trove of documents released this week.
Scrutiny
In total, around 600 Spaniards are now under scrutiny after being named in the Pandora Papers leak, which was compiled by over a dozen media groups around the globe. The papers also put the spotlight on Russian oligarchs and godfather Amato, who used offshore companies to amass wealth and assets in Spain. A series of well-known expats, such as pop star Shakira and Nobel-Prize winning author Mario Vargas Llosa, appear to have broken tax rules. The use of off-shore companies is not illegal or evidence of wrongdoing, but the papers show how the super-rich can amass wealth in ways that are not easy for tax agencies to detect. Spain’s tax agency Hacienda confirmed it would be examining the data dump of 11.9 million records. Opinion Page 6
FLAT WRONG!
Expats slam rental agency that ‘misleads’ prospective tenants at a steep price of €390 FURIOUS residents are calling for moves to clamp down on ‘scam’ estate agents after expats rallied together to share their experiences of the cheating business. Expats created a Facebook post about OPAU to explain why their trust in the business has collapsed. Estate agents OPAU, has franchise offices in Murcia, Valencia and Alicante but the complaints are centred on its Malaga office. It’s staff are accused of lying, dodgy dealing and bringing misery and stress to renters across the south of Spain. Expat Joyce Su, who first raised
lure you in, but mostly are not available.” She went on to accuse the company of ‘playing games’ by not answering the alarm, said she was deter- phone calls, always being unavailmined to speak out in a bid to able and sending clients on wild drive out the rogue estate agents. goose chases to find properties. The former fashion student, who “You pay an up front €390 agenstudied in Milan, said OPAU fre- cy fee and then sign a contract, quently gives misleading infor- which they can’t give you a copy mation about properties, and of because they say it’s ‘private for accused the firm of purposefully the company’,” she said. taking ‘agency-fees’ from house She added they send you viewings hunters to line their own pockets. spontaneously, but give you little The 33-year-old said: “If you are time to get to appointments and looking for flats, please avoid an don’t send photos. agency called OPAU. They have “As a result, there is a big chance many nice flats on Idealista to you will be running around to visit some horrible flat which is far from your requireOpen every day ments,” added Su, from Taiwan. Closed Monday She continued that after the viewing, clients are instructed to call back to the office or send an email and advise whether or not they like the property - but no one ever picks up the phones. “The only time you are allowed to call is from 4 to 8pm. 80% of the time all lines are busy and it is impossible to reach them,” she continued. reservas@palaciodelabellota.com “If you send an www.palaciodelabellota.com email there is still no response after C/Mosent Femades, 7 CP. 46002 VALENCIA days, weeks.” EXCLUSIVE By Kirsty McKenzie
reservas:
963 51 49 94
Su claims she is still ‘homeless’ and is determined to get a refund for the agency fee she paid in good faith. Dozens of expats shared similar experiences, complaining about poor value for money, gazumping, unnecessary delays and failure to communicate. One, Anna Indricane, said: “After the whole September spent with OPAU looking for a long term apartment, it has been a waste of time and money.” Tom Stenberg called OPAU a ‘scam’, while Don Simon Bolivar, from Bristol, said: “I’m amazed that they are still in business. There are many warnings about them.”
Lucky
Sheila Almas said: “We were lucky that we left the ‘nice looking’ office and said we are going to think about it. But I never got back to them after seeing many posts and stuff about them on the internet.” UK expat Maria said that she had gone to the company’s office in Malaga having seen a very nice flat advertised. “They made me believe I was going to the office to meet the agent who was going to show me the flat, but of course it was not like that. “The flat was not available and there were no agents, just this obnoxious lady who tried by all means to make me sign their contract. “Thank God I felt that something was off. I followed my instinct and left the office.” The Olive Press has tried to get in touch with OPAU, but the phone went unanswered and emails have not been replied to.