The CEO of a Málaga developer and his brother are being charged with fraud by around 20 clients who made a down payment on houses that were never built.
The buyers, who are mostly British, filed charges against Grupo Mirador, which is run by Enrique and Leopoldo Faura, after waiting nearly five years for their homes to be built in Fuente de la Piedra. In April 2003 the victims of the alleged fraud paid between EUR 30,771 and EUR 88,024 in advance for houses whose construction is yet to be completed.
The irregular proceedings also extend to the bank that was meant to guarantee the return of the money should the contract between the clients and the developer be rescinded. Caja Hipotecaria Centro Sur S.A. was registered in Panama and is no longer operational.
A number of British citizens have taken the property company Grupo Mirador and the sales agency Palmera Properties to courts for fraud. The sales company, located in Benalmadena, which specialised in selling “off-plan properties”, took commissions of up to 3,500 Euro from the clients when they made their initial down payments.
Grupo Mirador, which had developments in Benalmadena, Villanueva de Rosario and Fuente de Piedra, spread over a number of small companies, have sold houses, which have later been seized as security against the companies’ debts. They have also issued payment notes without funds, used bank guarantees with a financial company that lacks authorisation for this activity and have failed to comply with the building specifications for their projects. Some of the companies in the group are in a ruinous financial situation, with important embargoes
The promoter Francisco Contreras, known as “El Pocero” upon a sentence for 4 years imprisonment by the Madrid courts, promptly appealed the decision in the Constitutional Courts. He deposited the 1.9 million Euro in guarantees demanded by the judge.
Contreras has projected a town with 13,500 dwellings in Sesena (Toledo), without guarantees for a stable water supply. The project was approved by the previous (socialist) mayor and also the regional government of Castilla – La Mancha.
In Catral (Alicante) the new PP municipal government, which succeeded the socialist mayor who had authorised the construction of 1,300 illegal houses, has presented a new general plan which includes all the illegal construction. The Regional government has ordered the bulldozing of 34 houses, is preparing the order for demolition of another 81. Over the summer the illegal construction has continued, in spite of the previous fireworks from the Regional Government
The PP majority in Orihuela town hall, without the obligatory certificate of water supply from the Hidrographic Conferederation of the water district Jucar, has approved a plan to build a further 2,570 houses on the coast.
1 comments:
I bought into the 1st phase at Fuente (it seems like the last century) and just last year (August) was contacted by Palmera/their original lawyers with a completion statement. It was far above the original sum,€12000, so I objected. I was told the new, increased figure included certain upgrades, none of which I asked for or agreed to. I refused to proceed and demanded the return of my deposit and IVA (paid on the total selling price). Despite numerous emails and calls, there has been no response, other than an email a few weeks ago, asking me if I was ready to proceed. This email came from a M Del Mar G, Commercial Administrator, Promociones Coniproje SL. I asked for a tel number, which I received, but this person suggested I stick to writing as he was the only one who spoke English, and not very well, and was often away from the office. I tried to make contact by phone, only to make myself more annoyed as nobody understood (or made out they didn't) a word I was saying. I would happily hand over my contract for 65% of my outlay, if only I could get a response. If anyone is interested in plot A26, complete and ready to go, please contact me. Good luck.
2 April 2009 at 07:14Post a Comment