The trial against three defendants accused of appropriating 141 rural properties in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, and Fuerteventura will begin this Tuesday in Gran Canaria. This case, which will be judged in the First Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas, was supposed to be judged on March 18, 2025, but it did not happen and it reaches the court a year and seven months later.
The Prosecutor's Office accuses J.O.M., S.R.M.M., and J.M.C.F. of allegedly colluding with the deceased G.A.G.G.R. and R.M.M. to search for rural properties on the three islands and "make illicit changes to their cadastral ownership registrations".
The Public Ministry assures that S.R.M.M. and the two deceased allegedly "searched among their acquaintances for information about real estate," located them, and found their ownership. Furthermore, it accuses J.M.C.F. of using the management company he owned to transfer the information he had access to.
Change of owners in the Cadastre
Once the properties were located, the Ministry highlights that S.R.M.M. and the two deceased allegedly "illicitly fabricated private documentation of sale contracts," which they then presented to the Cadastre of Las Palmas, where another of the accused, J.O.M., worked as a civil servant.
The Prosecutor's Office emphasizes that by "altering the ownership" of the properties, the defendants allegedly obtained economic benefits and then bought vehicles, luxury items, or real estate with that money. All of this, "giving an appearance of legality to the money obtained illicitly."
The Public Ministry considers that the intervention of all the accused was necessary to carry out these crimes. For example, J.O.M. allegedly altered the cadastral ownership of the properties using his position as a public official, bypassing procedural rules and processing them in "express time."
More than 141 modified files
According to the Prosecutor's Office's brief, of the 141 modified files, in the vast majority (137) the interested parties were not given a hearing, preventing them from submitting allegations; in almost all of them (139) the cadastral alteration was not notified either, preventing them from appealing; in most of them (131) the entry of documents was not stamped; in none of them were the adjacent plots notified of this modification. Likewise, most of the files were processed between 24 hours and sixteen days, "with no time for allegations."
The Ministry states that the accused J.M.C.F., as the owner of an administrative agency in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, allegedly used the information to which he had access to shape the documentation that he later delivered to the deceased R.M.M.
Finally, it classifies these acts as a continuous crime of forgery in a public document, another of fraud, a third crime of money laundering, and a fourth of belonging to a criminal group.
To J.O.M., an official of the Cadastre, the Prosecutor's Office accuses him of a continuous crime of forgery in a public document and points to S.R.M.M. as a necessary cooperator and J.M.C.F. as an accomplice.
Meanwhile, it presents S.R.M.M. as responsible for a crime of fraud; the three accused of a crime of money laundering and belonging to a criminal group.
Prison sentences
The Public Prosecutor's Office requests for J.O.M. a total of 13 years in prison for the crimes of forgery in a public document with prevarication, money laundering, and belonging to a criminal group. In addition to two fines of 8,640 euros and 4,000 euros, special disqualification from employment, public office, and/or working as a Cadastre official for six years, disqualification from practicing his profession for three years, and disqualification from the right to passive suffrage for the duration of the sentence.
For the accused S.R.M.M. it requests a total of 17 years in prison for the continuous crimes of forgery in a public document with prevarication, fraud, money laundering, and belonging to a criminal group. With fines totaling 12,640 euros, special disqualification from employment or public office for six years, disqualification from practicing his profession for three years, and disqualification from the right to passive suffrage for the duration of the sentence. He will also have to compensate E.R.R. with 19,000 euros.
For the last accused, J.M.C.F., it requests nine years and eleven months in prison for the continuous crime of forgery in a public document and belonging to a criminal organization and money laundering. In addition, two fines of 6,148 euros for money laundering and special disqualification from employment or public office for one year and eleven months.
Finally, the Prosecutor's Office asks the accused to pay the judicial costs and for the nullity of the changes of ownership to be declared so that they conform to the cadastral registry reality.
Add La Voz de Lanzarote as a preferred Google source.
Stay informed with the latest current news.