A Palma court found a Russian millionaire, resident in Calvià, guilty of smuggling after bringing two luxury watches into Majorca without declaring them or paying the applicable taxes. The total value of the timepieces is about 180,000 euros, and the case involved a Swiss stop by the Civil Guard when the assets entered the country. The judgment requires the man to serve six months in prison and to cover a 215,000-euro fine and associated taxes, along with confiscation of the watches.
The defendant arrived at Son Sant Joan on 13 February 2020 on a flight from Zurich, accompanied by a woman. He collected his bags, exited the customs area, and was later detained by Civil Guard officers. Swiss authorities had warned the guards of the suspect’s possible arrival two days earlier, since Switzerland had already requested a VAT refund related to the items.
Investigators reported that the defendant was wearing a Brueghet watch valued at roughly 175,000 euros and a Longines La Grande timepiece priced just over 1,000 euros. Researchers uncovered two invoices for the watches dated the day before at a Zurich shop. The invoices showed the defendant requesting and receiving a VAT refund in Switzerland, which meant he should have declared the items and paid taxes once he arrived in Spain, amounting to almost 37,000 euros.
During the trial, the defendant argued that he did not intend to evade tax obligations and claimed the customs officers did not understand his signals because he spoke only Russian. The magistrate did not find this explanation credible. According to the civil guards at the hearing, the defendant was asked multiple times whether he had anything to declare and he refused to respond.
The court described the case as a crime of smuggling committed by the Russian national. The defendant was sentenced to six months in prison, a fine of 177,993 euros, and an additional 36,948 euros for unpaid taxes. The watches were also ordered confiscated, with the state recovering the tax revenue due. The proceedings emphasize how improper declarations and VAT refunds can intersect with cross-border customs control and tax enforcement. (Source: Palma Court Records, summarised for clarity)