The National Police have seized large amounts of cash from luxury villas in Calvia said to belong to Nikolai Kolesov, an arms manufacturer with links to Vladimir Putin. High-end cars have also been seized.
A police operation was carried out on Monday. Several properties were raided as was a lawyer's office and an estate agency. The lawyer, who is originally from Moldova, was arrested, as was the wife of a former employee at the estate agency, the owner of which has disassociated himself from any operation related to the Russian oligarch.
The lawyer is understood to have acted in the purchases of at least four of Kolesov's properties in Mallorca. This was as a Russian translator and then as a proxy. The properties were put in the names of different relatives in order to avoid European Union sanctions. There are five properties in all, according to the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation; these are valued at a total of 18 million euros.
The lawyer is accused of money laundering, fraudulent insolvency, concealment of assets, tax evasion, and membership of a criminal organisation. It is understood she has told investigators she was unaware that the buyer of the luxury villas was an ally of Putin's. Nikolai Kolesov, 69, owns the military helicopter company Russian Helicopters.