Swiss man arrested in Benahavis

National Police officers have arrested a 51 year-old man in Benahavis under an international arrest order issued by the Swiss courts on September 22, for fraud.

The officers tracked the man down near his home on an urbanisation in Benahavis. After identifying him and checking the arrest order, issued by the Public Prosecutor in Bern for embezzlement, punishable in Switzerland with a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail the man was taken into police custody.

According to the arrest order, he is alleged to have received 1,622,000 Swiss francs (about €1.5 million) in his capacity as head of a real estate group, for the construction of homes, the National Police force reported.

Between December 2012 and the end of September 2013, the man is accused of diverting the money and used it to buy vehicles and pay his staff. In addition, he allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of francs into accounts in his own and one of his partners’ names.