Happy Holidays, Zapatero

FAO: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President
Email: jlrzapatero@presidencia.gob.es
The Spanish Government
MADRID
Spain

7th August 2011

Dear Sir

This is the third occasion on which I have written to you and maybe it will be third on which I do so without response; nevertheless, given its anticipated “circulation” I feel sure it will not go unnoticed!

I am prompted to write, yet again, after hearing of your Countries continued economic gloom and the fact that you are having to cut short your holiday in order to deal with the crisis … LUCKY YOU … I cannot afford a holiday after having been defrauded of some €250,000.00 by citizens from your Country! Your problem, Sir, is the underlying corruption and fraud which underlies every facet of Spain’s culture. Take a long hard look at the situation you have with CAM Bank … I alerted the Authorities to the extent of the fraud taking place there years ago … AND VERY PUBLICLY AT THAT. CAM Bank HAS BEEN BUILT upon an overall ethos of fraud and corruption for years and you sir have simply allowed it to perpetuate. A fraud based upon the exploitation of largely innocent “Non- Spanish Nationals” in a huge “Property Scam”.

This scam has been allowed to perpetuate by what must undoubtedly be the most dilatory Legal System in the World … one which would be more at home in some of the more corrupt African States. I commenced a fraud action (“Querella Criminal”) against a Developer, Rafael Aguilera and his Company Trampoline Solera, some three years ago for signing a contract with me for the purchase of a property, taking nearly €200K, then in collaboration with CAM Bank arranging a huge fraudulent Mortgage before finally fraudulently selling MY PROPERTY to a third party. In any Country in the World that IS FRAUD but bringing someone to trial in Spain … particularly if they are NOT Spanish citizens … is impossible! You have a law in your Country … LEY57/68 … but does it ever get applied … a law designed to safeguard the deposits of purchasers from an “off-plan” developer. Justice in your Country is impossible and yet here you are “crying” over the state of your Countries “economic crisis” whilst ignoring the underlying problems. Your actions are akin to the treatment of a Headache with Aspirin whilst ignoring the underlying cause … a tumour the size of the combined area of the Spanish Costa’s which requires removal! Apart from Oranges, Olive Oil and Melons the Spanish economy has relied heavily upon Tourism and the Construction industry fuelled by a desire to “entice” overseas Purchasers to but property in Spain. A construction industry based upon greed, corruption and fraud and yet you have the absolute downright nerve to send a Government representative to the UK with the sole intention of organising a “Road Show” to defraud yet more UK residents!

Sadly I think you will fail to appreciate the severity of the concerns voiced here because I suspect that fraud and corruption run through the veins of all Spaniard’s and therefore you too will not appreciate the points that I, together with thousands of others, are trying to make. For sure, had I known way back in 2004 the “cultural level of fraud” which exists in Spain I would NEVER have attempted to purchase a property in Spain or indeed the one I now have on Mallorca! Justice in Spain is an absolute “non-starter” and then … even when the Court appoint an official as they did in the case of the collapse of Trampolin Solera … Monzón Abogados … obtaining an intelligent response to a question is impossible. Sra. Monzón’s sole intention is to drag out her enquiries for as long as possible in order to build up her fees in an attempt to defraud still further thousands of innocent victims from yet another Spanish Property Scam!

So Senor Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, what are you going to do about this? My guess is NOTHING … you have postured about cutting short your holiday but my guess is that this will be a short lived reaction before you return to another bottle of Fundador Brandy before your resignation on, I assume, a lucrative pension from the Spanish Government. My suggestion is that you go now and at least show the world that you want to see your Country recover. As for me I simply want to see Justice in your Courts, the return of my money whilst I rue for the rest of my life the day I purchase ANYTHING in Spain! I have alerted you now for a third time to the extent of the fraud in your country, to the docile nature of your Legal System and to the corruption within both CAM Bank and Monzón Abogados … doubtless you will do nothing but in case you have forgotten what this is really all about I repeat below the text from my letter of March this year:-

I have written to you on a previous occasion sadly to little effect but on searching the Internet I find that not only have you been contacted by many others about the “off-plan” building scandal in Spain … more specifically have you been contacted by many others about the situation with a company in Murcia appearing in several guises … Trampolin Solera, Trampolin Hills, Trampolin Royal Dreams. All of these are separate companies which are interlinked who together, I suspect, with the respective Banks … most notably CAM Bank … have been able to defraud many hundreds of people of their homes and their life savings.

One of the “letters” you have received early this year starts in the following vein:-
“We understand that improving Spain’s economy is proving difficult. We are very sorry about that, but not surprised.

We feel it is necessary to draw your attention to a case which no doubt is keeping European citizens of all nationalities from buying off-plan property anywhere in Spain, and will continue to do so if it is not dealt with in a just and appropriate manner. ….”

The letter then goes on to document a catalogue of errors made by the authorities which have brought many families across Europe to their knees … mine included!

I really wonder whether or not you have any idea of the mammoth scale of the fraud involved … indeed I wonder whether you really care? The Legal system in Spain … a system over which YOU preside … is so lax that I am forced to say “is it any wonder that your own Costa Del Sol is known throughout Europe as the Costa Del Crime”! Criminals in Spain appear not just to survive but to positively flourish in your Country due solely to the dilatory nature and handling by the Courts and the Justice System in Spain.

I take my own situation as a case in point although by NO MEANS isolated. I purchased an “off-plan” property from Trampolin Solera in or around 2004 and over a period of months paid over some 185,000€ leaving a small balance to be paid upon completion. Eventually the property was finished but when my Lawyers checked through the details of the transaction it became clear that a large Mortgage had been taken out with CAM Bank in 2007 which was (a) far in excess of the balance due to be paid (b) taken out against a highly inflated Bank valuation and (c) some +- 2 years AFTER I HAD SIGNED AND AGREED THE CONTRACT! Worse was to follow … the Developer had in fact subsequently sold my property twice and in fact moved the SECOND purchaser into our home … even in Spain this has to be FRAUD!

The Civil Judgment which eventually followed after some two years produced no satisfaction. A second CRIMINAL action was commenced in early 2009 with a “Querella Criminale” being issued against the Developer, Sr. Rafael Aguilera. All of this was two years and in spite of my making two personal visits to the Court number 2 at the Royal Palace of Justice in Murcia and spoken directly to the Judge Miriam Garcia this matter STILL has not been progressed to Trial. In the meantime the Defendant has been able to dissipate all his assets before placing his company Trampolin Solera SL into Administration. The appointed Administrators are Nerea Monzón and Rafael Jiménez from Monzón Abogados in Murcia.

My question of you, Senor, is just what does an innocent victim have to do in order to gain Justice in your Country … I have been defrauded of in excess of 250,000€ including costs ect and all the while the Defendant is able to simply continue enjoying the “spoils” of his crimes whilst continuing to attempt to defraud others. From your point of view, as the President of your Country, perhaps the real concern should be the involvement of the Banks … and in this case CAM Bank … in what is potentially a fraud of over 100,000,000.00€! I would welcome the opportunity of meeting with either yourself or one of your SENIOR advisers in Madrid but in any event I am copying this email to The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, our own Embassy in Madrid, my Lawyers based in La Manga … Iberbrit and the administrators for Trampolin, Monzón Abogados.

I look forward … hopefully … to your meaningful and constructive response.

Let us now see whether or not you really do have the “courage” to respond!

Kind regards

Yours sincerely



Andrew Wilford


cc: The Rt. Hon. David Cameron, UK Prime Minister
Alex Brown, British Embassy MADRID
AUN, Alicante
Sean O’Hare, The Daily Telegraph
Michael Cashman MEP
Monzón Abogados
Atencion al Ciudadano; case no. 1533/2009
Buyers For Trampolin Hills
ITV Homes from Hell
Finca Parks Action Group