Policia Nacional vehicle. Credit: martinpixel – Shutterstock
Guardia Civil officers have detained three lawyers and placed eleven others under investigation over a criminal network that stole inheritances from deceased foreigners in Nerja. Authorities accuse the group of fraud, document forgery, identity theft, property usurpation, misappropriation, money laundering and organised crime membership.
Bank alert called for police probe
A Spanish bank fraud investigation team contacted police after noticing large unauthorised cash withdrawals from an elderly British client’s account at cash machines across the country. Officers discovered a Nerja lawyer listed with full powers on the account. Records showed the documents used to open it had been falsified, with the victim listed as twenty years younger. Further checks revealed the account holder had already died, yet the account continued operating normally. Two lawyers, both running practices that handled property deals and inheritances for foreign residents in the Axarquia area, were identified as the people withdrawing the funds.
Falsified will used to seize Swiss estate
Investigators linked the same group to the estate of a Swiss woman who died in a Nerja residential care home. Neighbours had provided her with food and clothing before social services arranged her admission due to mental health difficulties. The lawyers produced a forged will claiming she had handwritten it herself. They recruited other network members to act as witnesses, falsely confirming her handwriting and inventing a romantic link to a dead British man whose account they already controlled. The genuine heir, her son in Switzerland, received contact from one lawyer offering power of attorney to transfer the inheritance, including a Nerja apartment. He accepted initially but never received any assets and later reported the matter to Swiss authorities.
Extensive laundering operation uncovered
Over several years the three main figures are said to have carried out property transactions repeatedly, fake family donations, vehicle sales between associates, investment fund placements, ATM cash withdrawals and bank transfers designed to give illegal gains a lawful appearance. Total proceeds exceeded €1,000,000. Seven house searches in Nerja and Almuñecar come up with €200,000 in cash, jewellery, electronic devices and documents belonging to the deceased victims. Two of the detained lawyers have been remanded in custody while the third remains under investigation. The case, led by Nerja officers under Torrox court direction, remains open to identify more possible victims and participants.
Protecting foreign residents from exploitation
Foreign residents in Spain must treat inheritance and property matters with extreme caution, especially when elderly relatives live alone or have limited contact with family abroad.
Independent legal verification of any local representative prevents criminals from gaining control through falsified documents or powers of attorney. Regular communication with overseas heirs and prompt reporting of unusual bank activity or unexpected legal approaches reduce exposure to organised groups that target isolated foreigners. Official channels and registered wills provide stronger protection than informal arrangements in popular coastal areas.
