HAPPY NEW YEAR
ISSUE NO. 1695
28 Dec 2017 - 3 Jan 2018
New twist in Cursach case POLICE are investigating the namesake son of jailed nightclub owner Bartolome Cursach. It comes amid claims that he impersonated one of the protected witnesses in the ongoing case against his father, falsely telling an online newspaper that detectives had coerced him into faking his court testimony. But the witness in question saw the report and contacted police, sparking a probe which revealed the message had come from Cursach junior’s personal computer. Cursach senior is accused of 16 separate offences including bribery, extortion, money-laundering, homicide, corruption of children and firearm possession.
MALLORCA
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Killer storm Bruno claims life
The 112 emergency services confirmed his death in the afternoon, after he was reportedly found unconscious in the water hours earlier. He is thought to have been pulled out of the water but was not revived despite onlookers and emergency staffs’ attempts to resuscitate him, according to Spanish media. Yesterday saw extreme conditions on the coast, with huge waves to match strong winds.
The Balearics were hit with heavy rainfall alongside the winds, with the extreme weather forecast to be over by tonight (Thursday), though lighter gusts will remain. Es Barcares is a popular spot for wind and kite surfers. The wind at the scene is thought to have been gusting at between 40 and 60km per hour when the man died. Waves of up to eight metres high were reported.
BEST OF THE YEAR
Bogus sickness scams probed SCOTLAND YARD will help combat the food poisoning scammers who have defrauded Mallorca’s hotels of tens of millions of Euros in bogus insurance claims. The British police service was asked by Spain’s National Police to track down UKbased companies and law firms suspected of masterminding the holiday sickness scams. Mallorca has been at the centre of the scam in Spain. British holidaymakers are encouraged to lodge fake food poisoning complaints against local hotels in the hope of
DANGER: Huge storm waves were reported. A windsurfer died in Es Barcares, Alcudia, amid Storm Bruno’s extreme conditions yesterday (Wednesday). The 47-year-old man drowned as winds of up to 100km per hour battered the coast.
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
PAGES 6 - 16
getting an insurance payout. With lax laws in the UK regarding evidence, and tour companies subtracting payouts automatically from their payments to Spanish hotels, scammers cost Spain’s hotel industry €60 million last year. The request for Scotland Yard’s help centres around the case of arrested British businesswoman Laura Joyce. She and six others, including her mother, are suspected of being part of a Palmabased network of scammers who encouraged tourists to make fraudulent claims.