Mallorcan businessman Salvador Llinás convicted for the Autoclick scam: Almost five years in prison

PalmaBusinessman Salvador Llinás has accepted this Wednesday a sentence of four years and ten months in prison for the scam linked to Autoclik, a case that has caused an estimated economic damage of nearly 20 million euros.

The agreement was formalized during a preliminary hearing at the First Section of the Provincial Court of Palma, in which the parties reached an agreement in the criminal proceedings. This does not prevent, however, civil claims from continuing. In addition to the prison sentence, the convicted person will have to pay a fine of around 2,800 euros.

Initially, the prosecution was requesting nine years in prison and a fine exceeding 4,000 euros for a crime of fraud.

Sale of thousands of vehicles without being the owner

The events date back to 2018, when Llinás was the sole administrator of the company IMT Holding Spain, owner of Balear Sport Car and Autoclik, as well as other similar companies in various European countries.

These companies were dedicated to the rental of vehicles without a driver. To carry out the activity, they had a large fleet spread across different points in the State, such as Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Malaga, with cars mostly acquired through leasing or renting contracts.

Although the contracts expressly prohibited the sale or assignment of the vehicles, Llinás ignored this limitation and sold many of them to individuals and companies. To do this, he presented invoices that simulated that he owned the cars, which led buyers to complete the transactions.

In many cases, the vehicles were delivered, but not the original documentation, as the businessman was not the legal owner.

A millionaire scam with international ramifications

According to the Civil Guard's investigation, Llinás also sold 44 vehicles abroad that he had acquired with bank financing, despite being prohibited from transferring them.

In total, investigators estimate that he fraudulently disposed of 3,568 vehicles, with a global economic damage that climbs up to 20 million euros.

Arrested in Taiwan and transferred to Spain

The businessman was arrested in Taiwan in October 2024. Subsequently, he was transferred to Frankfurt, where he remained in provisional detention for nearly a month.

At the end of November, and by virtue of a European arrest and surrender order, he was finally transferred to Spain, where he has remained in prison until the hearing at which he has admitted the facts.