The Alicante Court Convicts Puskas’ Son-in-Law and Caixa Rural Altea Executive
The Alicante court convicted the son-in-law of the legendary Hungarian actor Ferenc Puskas and a former director of a branch of Caixa Rural Altea in l’Alfas del Pi. He received a sentence of three years and seven months for stealing part of the actor’s legacy. The case notes that Caixa Rural Altea faces responsibilities in the penalty, with compensation estimated at about one million euros (Source: Alicante Court).
“I am not a thief.”That is how the son-in-law of Ferenc Puskas described himself when he spoke at the Alicante Court last June, after being accused of moving and spending approximately 1.2 million euros paid for inheritance by a Hungarian publisher into his own account. The charge involved the actor’s trophies and other material assets. The defendant stood trial alongside a former Caixa Altea branch manager in l’Alfas del Pi, facing two separate counts of fraud and forged documents. Prosecutors sought six years in prison. The defendant maintained that he had received authorization from both his wife and mother-in-law to use the money paid by the Hungarian publisher for the actor’s inheritance (Source: Alicante Court).
This case traces back to January 2011, when Puskas’s widow opened an account in l’Alfàs del Pi. Initially, her daughter managed the account, followed by the son-in-law. About 1,190,000 euros were deposited in relation to the sale of Puskas’s estate, which the widow had managed through a special arrangement after the actor’s death. The charges argue that the defendant had authority to dispose of the funds without the account holder’s consent and that the sale proceeds aligned with the widow’s estate plan, a fact the groom’s wife acknowledged during the proceedings (Source: Alicante Court).
The alleged fraud emerged when Hungarian authorities demanded 191,000 euros in taxes on the sale of the actor’s estate. It was reported that the defendant noticed a near-empty balance, just over 1,400 euros, in the widow’s account after this demand. The prosecutor said that the 191,000 euros claimed from the widow had been remitted to Hungary from the defendant’s account (Source: Alicante Court).
According to the prosecutor, between September and October 2011 the groom withdrew funds and redirected them to another account opened in the same Caixa branch. The trial record indicates a transfer of 900,000 euros to the defendant’s account, though he claimed that his mother-in-law had granted broad authority to manage the estate and finances, an authority he said became effective after his wife’s death on October 19, 2011 (Source: Alicante Court).
On the same day the funds were moved, the defendant withdrew 70,000 euros. When questioned by the prosecutor, he could not recall the exact use of the money, noting that his wife’s oncological treatment and related hotel expenses were charged to his account. Critics point out that no corroborating documents were provided to justify these expenditures or other payments, including the purchase of a vehicle (Source: Alicante Court).
The son-in-law, a figure in Spanish-Hungarian football history through his ties to Real Madrid, maintained that his mother-in-law and wife authorized him to manage the funds in the account. During testimony he remarked, “I did what my wife asked and got money for my mother-in-law; all I did for that woman was to leave her money.” The discussion also touched on the handling of the legacy, with allegations that trophies and other assets were moved from a warehouse in Madrid to San Sebastian and then to Benidorm, where the actor once resided with his daughter in a purchased apartment. The sale proceeds were reportedly settled in Benidorm, and the inheritance later moved to Hungary, with the defendant arguing that the price was set by his wife (Source: Alicante Court).
The former Caixa Altea branch manager testified that withdrawals could be authorized if the client permitted it, and the actor himself denied receiving any monetary compensation from his son-in-law. Meanwhile, the two grandchildren of the football star and the accused’s daughters asserted that the proceeds came from their mother. “We are humble. We have a grandfather with a remarkable career and we don’t want any more harm to come to us,” one of the daughters stated (Source: Alicante Court).
Although the son-in-law claimed that their mother-in-law was not facing financial hardship, Jozsef Toth Zele, a former Hungarian coach who had served as an accountant for the estate, testified that the person who had appointed him did not have resources in Hungary to support the claim. The witness statements and the financial trail formed the backbone of the Alicante case, which continues to be analyzed by the court and by observers of football history rights and inheritance law (Source: Alicante Court).
Related posts:
The AI Perspective on Alicante’s Most Beautiful City AI Insights: The Beauty of Altea and Alicante Are You a Real Estate Enthusiast? Stunning Homes for Sale in Altea and Surrounding Areas Luxurious homes for sale in Altea | river of Mediterranean luxury homes Miró Star and the Caixa Group: Governance, Growth, and the Shaping of a Financial Empire Altea Literature and Research Awards Gala: Highlights and Finalists Pool Homes for Sale in Altea: 2 Bed to Duplex Listings Altea Honors Toni Mestre, A Pillar Of Valencian Media And Culture Marcin Olesky Wins The Best and Puskas Award 2022: A Triumph for Amputee Football CriteriaCaixa 2022 Performance and Dividend Strategy flights and hotels and related payments in a high-command context Networked Money Laundering Across Costa Blanca and the Balearics