An accused man faced allegations in a Palma court of defrauding a couple out of 400,000 euros through a diamond investment that never materialized. The victims claim the gems were promised to be genuine and valuable, but the promised sale collapsed amid a brutal backdrop related to a separate incident in Sierra Leone. The defendant, who is 71 years old, spoke at length during the hearing at the Palma Provincial Court, insisting that he never intended to take money from the injured parties and denying any motive to deceive. He described the situation as a life-long effort to stay ahead in a business that had become increasingly risky and unpredictable, and he asserted that no one was deceived on his watch. The court heard his response as part of the ongoing criminal proceedings. The atmosphere surrounding the case was tense, with prosecutors outlining the charges while the defendant maintained his claim of innocence and his commitment to resolving the matter by returning any funds if they could be traced. The dialogue in the courtroom reflected a complex narrative in which business ambitions collided with the consequences of alleged fraudulent actions.
The prosecution contends that the defendant kept the money close and would face a potential prison sentence of around three and a half years if convicted of fraud. The indictment explains that the defendant presented himself in March 2012 as a Sierra Leonean-based diamond trader who frequently conducted deals in the region. The victims, seeking a loan to rehabilitate their residence, were pressured to put up 500,000 euros, and they ultimately handed over 400,000 euros to the defendant with the expectation of receiving a high-value diamond portfolio in return. The conclusion of the transactions left them without any diamonds and with a financial setback that prompted them to pursue legal action. The court case thus centers on whether trust was misplaced in a business relationship that turned sour, with the possibility of significant financial loss for the victims and a test of the defendant’s credibility before the judiciary.
The defendant further explained that the funds originated from a pool of investors, including the victims, and that a substantial amount—more than three million dollars—was committed in a single day. He asserted that he secured the gems directly from miners and paid them in cash, though he acknowledged that he did not retain any receipts for those transactions. He claimed that the gems were stolen while en route to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, in what he described as a violent incident involving four people, two of whom were killed. He characterized the event as something out of a movie, insisting that the robbery was a real and traumatic episode rather than fiction. He also admitted that his own carelessness may have contributed to the misfortune, calling it his biggest mistake. The episode left him with a sense of responsibility to make amends, and he suggested that his actions were driven by a belief that the money should be returned to the victims if possible, even as the case progressed through the judicial system.
In response to the allegations, the defendant acknowledged having filed another complaint in Catalonia regarding similar incidents, and he described his ongoing resolve as an “obsession” with restoring the funds to the injured parties. The court proceedings thus hinge on a careful examination of the sequence of events, the credibility of the defendant’s version of the story, and the feasibility of recovering any misappropriated sums. The proceedings will continue as prosecutors and defense counsel present their arguments, and the court evaluates the evidence before reaching a verdict that could have lasting implications for both the defendants and the victims in this high-stakes financial dispute. The case has drawn attention to the risks involved in international diamond trades and the potential for conflicts to arise when trust is placed in unfamiliar markets and parties. The courtroom discussions will likely shape the narrative around the responsibilities of individuals engaged in high-value commodity deals and the mechanisms by which victims seek restitution through the legal system, according to records from the Palma Provincial Court.