Trampolin Hills protest

December 21, 2009

Over a hundred residents of Trampolin Hills Golf Resort, situated on the San Javier - Murcia road, held a protest last week at the resort. Armed with placards and shouting demands, the protesters are requesting that their money be returned and those responsible for the fraud to be sent to prison. The first of the more than 2,500 units planned at the resort were sold four years ago, but none were ever completed.

The affected clients are mainly from Spain, the UK and Ireland, and it’s understood that a group of those affected have made a formal request in writing to a court in Mula to ask that the two owners – Antonio Martínez and Rafael Aguilera – be imprisoned for fraud amounting to 60 million euros. Joaquín Guzmán, a lawyer who represents many of the investors concerned, said he believes the two owners could attempt to flee Spain or to destroy evidence.

The company is now in administration, but sources at the Grupo Trampolín told the newspaper that they believe the project will still go ahead. They said a way will be sought to pay those who want their money back, but have proposed to some of the purchasers the idea of forming a cooperative to allow the urbanisation to be built. There was no indication of the response to their proposal.

Trampolín Hills was recently fined the amount of 350,000 € for failing to put in place a bank guarantee for their investors. Such a guarantee is required under Spanish law to cover refunds for unfinished properties.