The Guardia Civil has dismantled a criminal network operating in the Axarquia region that forged wills and hijacked bank accounts belonging to vulnerable expats. The operation, named 'Donova', resulted in three arrests in Nerja and 11 people under investigation.
The gang's intricate money laundering scheme was exposed after the fraud department of a Spanish bank noticed suspicious cash withdrawals from the account of an elderly British client. Investigators discovered the account was being controlled by a female lawyer based in Nerja who had granted herself full powers of attorney. Officers found that forged documents had been submitted to the bank to make the British account holder appear 20 years younger, when in reality, the true owner of the account was already dead.
Police identified the female lawyer and another lawyer from a different Nerja firm withdrawing large sums of cash from ATMs. Both suspects worked for law firms specialising in real estate and inheritances for foreign residents on the eastern stretch of the Malaga coast. The hijacked British account was allegedly used to siphon off a massive inheritance belonging to another victim: a foreign woman who had died alone in a Nerja care home after suffering from mental health issues.
The lawyers allegedly forged a handwritten will to seize control of her estate. They used other members of the criminal gang as fake witnesses to validate the handwriting and invent a romantic relationship between the deceased woman and the dead British man. Subsequently, the gang contacted the woman’s legitimate son in Switzerland. One of the arrested lawyers convinced the son to grant them power of attorney to manage an apartment his mother owned in Nerja. The son never received any of his inheritance and subsequently reported the fraud to Swiss authorities.
A third lawyer, who is a direct relative of one of the main suspects, was also arrested for their direct involvement in the scheme. The gang laundered their illicit profits through simulated property donations, fake vehicle sales, and investment funds. Police raided seven properties across Nerja and Almuñécar, seizing €200,000 in cash, jewellery, electronic devices, and financial documents belonging to the deceased victims. The investigation remains open to determine if there are more victims.
