This week, Majorcan businessman Salvador Llinás is being tried for the million-dollar Autoclick scam

PalmThe Provincial Court of Palma will hold this week the preliminary hearing of the trial against the Mallorcan businessman Salvador Llinás, accused of an alleged millionaire fraud linked to the car rental company Autoclick. The Prosecutor's Office requests nine years in prison and a financial penalty for him for a fraud that could exceed 20 million euros.

An international business network

According to the indictment, the events date back to September 2018, when Llinás was the sole shareholder of the company IMT Holding Spain, owner of Balear Sport Car and Autoclick. This latter company controlled various similar companies in countries such as France, Italy, Portugal, and Belgium.

The companies were engaged in the rental of vehicles without drivers and had a large fleet distributed across different parts of the State, such as Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, and the Canary Islands. Most of the vehicles were acquired through leasing or renting contracts with financial institutions.

Vehicles sold without being the owner

According to the investigation, the businessman would have sold many of these vehicles, even though the contracts expressly prohibited this operation. To do so, he allegedly provided invoices and documentation that appeared to show he had control of the cars.

In many cases, buyers received the vehicles but not the original documentation, as Llinás did not have it. This led to numerous complaints both in Spain and abroad.

Civil Guard investigators estimate that up to 3,568 vehicles may have been sold fraudulently, with economic damages that could reach 20 million euros.

Detained in Taiwan after years outside of Spain

The case took a turn in 2024, when Llinás was arrested in Taiwan after years away from Spain. Subsequently, he was transferred to Frankfurt, where he was held in pre-trial detention before being extradited.

At the end of November, and by virtue of a European arrest warrant, the businessman was finally transferred to Spain to be brought before the judicial authorities.

One of the biggest scams in the 'rent a car' sector

The Autoclick case is considered one of the most important scams linked to the vehicle rental sector, especially in Mallorca, where the company had part of its operations.

With the holding of the preliminary hearing, the procedure now enters the decisive phase before the trial, which will determine if the businessman is convicted for this alleged macro-scam.