420,000 Euro was defrauded by holidaymakers who paid deposits on apartments which did not in fact exist

19:36 El NACHO 0 Comments

Costa Blanca 2009 holiday accommodation scam still under investigation in the U.K.: "420,000 Euro was defrauded by holidaymakers who paid deposits on apartments which did not in fact exist

Investigations are reported to remain open in the U.K. into dozens of cases of alleged real estate frauds involving rental accommodation on the Costa Blanca. Reports indicate the total amount defrauded, obtained in advance payments for deposits on holiday apartments in the summer of 2009 was 420,000 €.

When the tourists arrived at their destination, they found just empty plots of land, even though they had seen photographs and other details on the web pages where they had booked and paid a deposit.

It’s understood some 140 complaints have been placed in the U.K., along with some 60 complaints from other countries such as Saudi Arabia, with each one claiming that they had paid deposits ranging in size from 1,800 to 7,000 € to spend their holidays in Dénia, Jávea and Teulada-Moraira.

At the time in 2009 the Spanish Guardia Civil did arrest two individuals, a man and a woman, but newspaper Las Provincias reports that there has been little progress since then. The man is still being held in prison on remand, while the woman was released with charges outstanding after declaring to the duty judge in Dénia.

It is established that all the agencies involved had the same postal address which was a post box, but there is no sign as to where the money may have gone."