Claire Wilson
A BRITISH man accused of defrauding investors in a luxury Estepona development has appeared in court in Madrid.
Colin Thomas, of Town Hill, Yoxall, is suspected of two counts of fraud, the first relating to a company he set up called Ocean View Properties (OVP), and the second through urban corruption case Operation Malaya.
Lawyers for OVP claimants suspect a link between the €2.1 billion Operation Malaya and lost money paid as deposits, which average €88,000 for apartments at the planned luxury Estepona Beach and Country Club.
OVP sold off-plan apartments at the proposed site for Spanish development company Sun Golf, despite the land never being owned by the Sun Golf, and building never beginning.
The complaint is being investigated alongside the Operation Malaya lawsuit filed by Marbella-based Lawbird, which was lodged in February 2011 in a bid to recover deposits paid by investors to OVP.
More than 1,000 British investors have lost a combined €49,000 for ´off-plan´ overseas property developments have lost their money after the firm was formally dissolved in 2009.
OVP bosses, including Thomas, have denied wrong doing.
Interesting no comments from the peanut gallery;had the headline read Spanish developer, there would of been a slew of comments. Not an argument,just an observation.
What a strange comment from the woman.
First thing you learn on living in a new country is – watch out for the scammers of your own nationality – it is they who will rip you off before the locals get a chance.
Spain was the country of choice for UK criminals to run to when it had no extradition treaty with the UK. Rip-off financial advisers, property con artists and cowboy builders.
UK government backed compensation is available to investors if the used their homes to obtain equity release loans for investing in Ocean View Properties. This was the norm where IFAs in the UK got paid commission from the lenders and OVP. Once you become aware of this compensation route you have three years to claim or be time barred.