Two employees of a Palma-based tourism and travel reservations company have been arrested by the National Police and charged with aggravated fraud.
The company, which provides reservations' systems, product contracting and internal management for leading tour operators, is an acknowledged pioneer in this type of business. The two employees who have been arrested are an IT specialist and a project manager with direct contact to customers and suppliers.
It was the company's own control and security systems which ultimately detected the fraud. The matter was put in the hands of the legal department, which filed a report with the National Police. There had been an internal investigation after a hotel company in Mallorca had encountered "strange" reservations.
The two had apparently obtained reservation codes for hotels and package tours. These reservations were then resold. Hotel companies subsequently raised invoices that were sent to the corresponding tour operator. When these claims were made, the tour operators had no knowledge of bookings having been made and registered in their own IT systems.
The fraud is estimated to have amounted to at least 230,000 euros. The investigation is ongoing.