New trial against Rosa: they ask for up to 11 years in prison and the judge already demands a bail of 57 million

The businessman will be in the dock this time with two of his children and other members of his family, for serious economic crimes against his partner in the Fariones hotel.

December 1 2021 (13:43 WET)
Updated in December 1 2021 (14:08 WET)
The businessman Juan Francisco Rosa, attending a statement in the Courts
The businessman Juan Francisco Rosa, attending a statement in the Courts

The businessman Juan Francisco Rosa is facing a new trial, this time with two of his children and other members of his family, accused of corporate crimes, misappropriation and document forgery. The case began in 2017, following a complaint filed by his partners in the Fariones hotel, García Bravo e Hijos SL. Now, after completing the investigation and receiving the indictments, the Investigating Court Number 2 of Arrecife has just ordered the opening of oral proceedings.

In the order, dated November 23, Magistrate Jerónimo Alonso also imposes very high bails on the five defendants, to cover the civil liability to which they could be sentenced. In the case of Juan Francisco Rosa, he is given 24 hours to deposit just over 57 million euros, with the warning that if he does not do so, "his assets will be seized in an amount sufficient to cover said sum."

In addition, that bail of 57,056,285 euros is also claimed from Rosa's two children accused in the case, Raquel and Andrés Rosa Caraballo. For them, the Prosecutor's Office requests two years in prison in its indictment, while the private prosecution raises the request to 11 years in prison, considering them not only necessary collaborators in the crimes, but also co-authors.

The other two defendants are Anselmo Rosa Perdomo and Rosa María Rosa Martín, who have also been required to deposit a bail of 29,995,471 euros each. Both face a request for two years in prison from the Prosecutor's Office and 11 years in prison from the private prosecution.

As for Juan Francisco Rosa, the Prosecutor's Office points him out as the material author of the investigated crimes, specifying that the other five defendants "followed his instructions." Thus, he asks for the highest penalty for him, of 4 years in prison, compared to the 2 years he requests for the rest, for two continued corporate crimes and a continued crime of forgery in a commercial document.

For its part, the private prosecution, exercised by García Bravo e Hijos S.L, adds to these crimes that of misappropriation or, alternatively, that of unfair administration, for which it raises the request for penalties to 11 years in prison, which is the same as that requested for all the accused. For all of them, he also demands that they be sentenced to the payment of economic fines of hundreds of thousands of euros.

In addition, both the private prosecution and the Prosecutor's Office demand the return of the money that disappeared from the accounts of the company Hotel Fariones S.A., to the detriment of its partners, the García Bravo family, which owned 25% of the company.

 

Another daughter of Rosa and several of her companies, as civilly liable

From the return of that money they also request that several companies of Juan Francisco Rosa respond, as well as other individuals who benefited from the allegedly criminal operations, such as the businessman Rafael Lasso Cabrera. For the moment, the order to open oral proceedings already requires BTL Lanzarote and Bodegas Stratvs to deposit a bail of 57 million euros, as subsidiary civilly liable parties, while Centro Deportivo Fariones SL, Rosinver SL and Frateromar SL. claims bails of between 27 and 29 million euros.

The private prosecution also includes another of Juan Francisco Rosa's daughters, Noelia Rosa Caraballo, as civilly liable, for her intervention in a "supposed Universal General Meeting" of Hotel Los Fariones SA, in which it was agreed to increase the share capital with a new share for which Noelia Rosa paid 601 euros. The García Bravo family asks that the minutes, certification and public deed of that "supposed Meeting" to which they were not summoned be annulled, and that it was key to reducing their participation in the company.

Along with that Meeting, the private prosecution demands that dozens of agreements, deeds and minutes of meetings be annulled, which it maintains were carried out behind their backs or even drawn up later, to cover the actions that had been carried out behind their backs.

 

"Clear intention to favor their personal interests"

In its indictment, the Prosecutor's Office maintains that the five defendants, "members of the same family, previously agreed and acting jointly following the instructions" of Juan Francisco Rosa, used the positions held by each one in different periods and acted "with a clear intention to favor their personal, family and patrimonial interests and knowing the economic damage that it caused to the company and to the minority partner of the same, the commercial entity García Bravo, S.L."

Among other things, they diverted funds from the company Hotel Fariones to other companies of Juan Francisco Rosa and his family, as alleged loans that they did not document and that they only began to pay years later, at the request of their partners and with an interest lower than the legal one. In addition, in the meantime they stopped paying taxes to different public administrations, which generated "constant, large and overdue public debts", which led to the payment of large interest, surcharges and penalties.

In addition, they also used the Fariones hotel as collateral and guarantee for mortgages and loans, both for their other companies and of a personal nature, in favor of Juan Francisco Rosa himself and "people close to him, but in any case unrelated to the minority partner and the very purpose of the entity." In fact, to this day the hotel is still mortgaged with a public deed in favor of Salmepa SL (today BTL Lanzarote).

Added to this is the sale of a company owned by Hotel Los Fariones SA, Lanzasuiza SA, "to people with whom they had, at least, economic interests, for an amount lower than the market value", without the company also collecting "the full amount of the price consigned." Part of those shares ended up in the hands of Rafael Lasso, who had to pay 645,079.10 euros, but according to the prosecution "he did not pay any amount." For this reason, he asks that this businessman respond as civilly liable, returning those shares to the company or, if they are no longer in his possession, compensating the company economically with the amount for which he sold them.

 

Premises ceded free of charge to Salmepa, which then rented them out

Among the alleged criminal acts, the Prosecutor's Office also includes the works of the Fariones hotel, whose budget ended up doubling. In addition, they ceded for years a total of eight premises that belonged to Lanzasuiza, "without justification and free of charge", to Salmepa, which leased them to third parties for its own benefit.

This same entity benefited from another premises owned by Hotel Los Fariones SA, in this case rented, but "in exchange for a derisory and out-of-market rent of 1,500 euros per month", according to the Prosecutor's Office. Afterwards, Salmepa subleased it "systematically for its own benefit, in exchange for a minimum monthly rent of 6,000 euros per month."

In addition, the Prosecutor's Office also considers that they incurred in a corporate crime by subcontracting with other entities linked to Rosa, such as Hotel Princesa Yaiza S.A, "unjustifiably and for the benefit of these, the 'management and marketing' services of the company's activity for the years 2014 to 2016", which meant for the entity "a new damage for the unnecessary payment of these imposed services of, at least, 849,359 euros."

The Prosecutor's Office adds that "to prevent the minority partner, García Bravo, S.L. from discovering the harmful operations" that they were carrying out, the defendants "spuriousely drew up, by giving it the character of universal", the minutes of dozens of alleged Meetings held between the years 2001 and 2014, "when they did not even summon the aforementioned minor shareholder to said Meetings."

In addition, he points out that "they have hidden or omitted to keep the pertinent book of minutes of the company, subtracting its knowledge even from the Court" that investigated these criminal proceedings.

The order to open oral proceedings -against which no appeal is possible, except in relation to the imposition of bails- implies that the procedure will now be referred to the Provincial Court. Afterwards, once the corresponding Chamber has been assigned, the trial date must be set.

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