News
Fair opener
Brits detained in fake
compensation raids
In the biggest crackdown so far against
fake holiday compensation claims,
seven British nationals have been
arrested following a month-long
investigation on Mallorca. Guardia
Civil officers raided six homes and two
commercial premises in Palma and
Calvía last month and detained a gang
suspected of masterminding fraudulent
food poisoning claims made by British
tourists.
The opening address at the annual fair in
Nerja this month will be given by Antonio
Pozueco (pictured above) who was part of
the TV team which made the iconic Verano
Azul series. He was administrator and
producer, and since joining TVE in 1974
has enjoyed an international career in film
and television. Antonio has retained strong
links with Nerja and is well-known in the
area.
Funding threat
Political differences at Nerja Town Hall
appear to threaten €5 million of European
funding granted for sustainable urban
projects. Failure of the tri-partite
minority administration to get approval
for projects at Council meetings means
these may not be implemented by the
cut-off date of 2022. They include a
training centre in Los Poetas and
improvements for crowd controls along
the Chillar river.
Victoria returns
Following the opening of their new factory
on Málaga’s Guadalhorce industrial estate,
brewers Cerveza Victoria are to join the
Sabor Málaga brand to which around 700
businesses in the province already belong.
Victoria beer started production in Málaga
in 1928 but this was halted in 1996 after a
take-over by Grupo Cruzcampo. Provincial
president Elias Bendodo described the
company as, “an ambassador of luxury.”
3D surgery
For the first time, thoracic surgeons at
Málaga’s Regional Hospital have implanted
a prosthetic breast bone and ribs which
were custom-made using 3D printing
technology. The titanium alloy prosthesis
was designed to give maximum stability to
the chest of a 70-year-old patient. The
hospital said benefits included shorter, less
aggressive surgery which led to a speedier
recovery.
The tourism sector on Mallorca
estimates that it has lost €50 million
from UK tour operators who deduct
any compensation paid to claimants
from the amount they pay to the hotel
in which they stayed. The gang is
understood to have operated on other
holiday islands as well.
The suspects are also said to have
employed agents to sign up holiday
makers in resorts, explaining how to
make a claim for food poisoning when
they returned home. The Spanish
tourism industry has called for the UK
to tighten the procedure which, at
present, accepts a receipt from a
pharmacy as evidence of illness, and
which accepts claims up to three years
after an alleged incident.
Last month, Madrid’s delegate to the
Balearic Islands said the number of
such claims made in 2015 totalled 160,
resulting in €3.3 million deducted
from hoteliers fees. By 2016, there
were almost 400 claims made with €8.7
million withheld by tour operators.
The British government launched an
awareness campaign in July in an effort
to deter holiday-makers from making
false compensation claims and warning
that they could face prosecution both
at home and abroad if they were to be
found out. In August, the UK
government’s Claims Management
Regulator removed the operating
licence from Lancashire-based Allsure
Ltd after it was shown to have,
“encouraged holiday-goer