Since March last year, German property developer Matthias Kühn has been under investigation by a Palma court for debts owed to the Tax Agency. He is suspected of having used a series of bankruptcy proceedings as a manoeuvre to avoid the collection of these debts.
The amount owed was initially put at eleven million euros. This subsequently increased to 25 million, a reason why the court of instruction for the case imposed a bond of €33 million on Kühn; this is being appealed before the Provincial Court.
The Tax Agency now wants to follow the trail of Kühn's money in tax havens. The State Attorney's Office, representing the agency, has asked the court to extend the investigation to a tax firm in Liechtenstein. This is the second time that the agency has requested a broadening of the investigation to advisors and financial services that Kühn employed.
The administration claims that alleged shell companies used by Kühn were located in Liechtenstein, a tax haven, and controlled by those who have been now named in court papers.
The suspicion is that these companies acquired the assets of Kühn's companies in Spain through simulated transactions. Although these companies were nominally outside the German group, they were actually under his control and concealed a large portion of his real assets. The Prosecutor's Office maintains that there is evidence of misappropriation of assets, criminal insolvency, and procedural fraud in the case.
Matthias Kühn, his two sons, and others are due to appear in court at the end of October. One person who has not yet been summoned to testify is his wife, Norma Duval. She was listed in the Prosecutor's Office's initial report as having benefited from her husband's alleged crimes, but she is not attributed with having had any direct involvement.
Also in March 2024, the Balearic Government was ordered to pay 96 million euros' compensation to Kühn in respect of an historic reclassification of land in Puerto Soller - Muleta II - that prevented the building of luxury properties. This money is currently being held by the Balearic High Court.