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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.
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expat
voice in Spain
Vol. 2 Issue 50 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
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 Opinion Page 6 across the south of Spain. Expat Joyce Su, who first raised the alarm, said she was determined to speak out in a bid to drive out the rogue Calle Los Arcos 7, Ciudad Quesada, 03170 estate agents.
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The former fashion student, who studied in Milan, said OPAU frequently gives misleading information about properties, and accused the firm of purposefully taking ‘agency-fees’ from house hunters to line their own pockets.
Lure
The 33-year-old said: “If you are looking for flats, please avoid an agency called OPAU. They have many nice flats on Idealista to lure you in, but mostly are not available.” She went on to accuse the company of ‘playing games’ by not answering phone calls, always being unavailable and sending clients on wild goose chases to find properties. “You pay an up front €390 agency fee and then sign a contract, which they can’t give you a copy of because they say it’s ‘private for the company’,” she said. She added they send you viewings spontaneously, but give you little time to get to appointments and don’t send photos. “As a result, there is a big chance you will be running around to visit some horrible flat which is far from your requirements,” added Su, from Taiwan. 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 SALES & RENTALS SPECIALISTS but no one ever picks up the phones. “The only time you are allowed to call is Moriara•Calpe•Jalon•Javea•Denia•Altea from 4 to 8pm. 80% of the time all lines are busy and it is impossible to reach www.moraira-hamiltons.net them,” she continued.
96 649 1883
“If you send an email there is still no response after days, weeks.” 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.