Mallorca financier cannot leave Spain

A Mallorca, Spain-based financier is free from custody but cannot leave the country without a judge’s permission. Simon Lendeert Verhoeven must report to court every two days after appearing at Spain’s National Court in Madrid, Spain, on Friday. The order follows his handover to Spanish authorities on Thursday after his arrest in Germany.

Europa Press

Judge José Luis Calama said he saw no risk that Verhoeven would flee. He ordered the Dutch financier to surrender his passport, give the court a fixed address, and provide a telephone number and email address for immediate contact.

Verhoeven declined to answer questions at Friday’s hearing, saying he had not been able to read the case file. Legal sources said he offered to give evidence at a later date.

Prosecutors had sought €1 million bail. Private prosecutors led by the PP had called for him to be remanded in custody without conditions. Calama rejected both requests.

Verhoeven is being investigated over the alleged fraudulent use of €53 million in government aid awarded to airline Plus Ultra in March 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic. The judge cited suspected misappropriation, influence peddling, money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation.

Investigators are examining an alleged money-laundering network in Spain, France and Switzerland, said to have been run by Verhoeven and businessman Luis Felipe Baca. They allege that Verhoeven used companies to move money to Plus Ultra under purported investment or loan contracts.

Last October, officers from the National Police’s Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit searched Verhoeven’s Mallorca home. They seized luxury watches and jewellery, along with two 100-gram gold bars and a 50-gram silver bar.

Mallorca financier cannot leave Spain: Plus Ultra case