A British businessman, his wife and a Palma lawyer were yesterday asked to refund nearly 22 million euros of allegedly unpaid taxes and provide financial guarantees of nearly 44 million euros each by a Balearic High Court judge.
Christian Hore, his Colombian-born wife Marta Monica and their Majorcan lawyer Alejandro Feliu, are three of a number of suspects who have been under investigation since April as part of a much broader police probe into alleged tax evasion, money laundering and fraud.
At the centre of the anti-fraud investigation into the trio's business activities is the Son Bunyola estate in Banyalbufar which Sir Richard Branson sold to the Hores.
It is alleged that the property, which Branson wanted to transform into one of the most beautiful hotels in the world, was sold through offshore companies and that no tax was paid in Spain.
Hores' lawyers argue that their clients are tax registered in the UK and are therefore not obliged to pay their taxes in Spain.
The three have five days to appeal and have denied the charges.