TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Spanish national wanted for fraud who was deported from Taiwan to Germany in October has been extradited to Spain where he faces an eight-year prison sentence.
Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, 47, who had been living in Taiwan for several years, was allegedly involved in the illegal sale of 3,468 rental cars worth 48.55 million euros (US$50.47 million) in Italy. After Interpol issued a Red Notice for Llinas, the National Immigration Agency began the deportation process for Llinas, which after a legal challenge and a rejection from Singapore, eventually led to Germany.
On Nov. 28, the judge of a court in Palma on the island of Mallorca confirmed the provisional detention of Llinas, per Diario de Mallorca. The judge dismissed the defense of procedural unfairness raised by his lawyer, Bartolome Salas, and justified his decision to send Llinas to prison on the grounds of the flight risk and the severe potential sentence he faces.
Llinas was arrested at the end of October in Taiwan, complying with several international warrants, after being on the run for six years. His status as a fugitive began when the Spanish Guardia Civil uncovered the alleged fraud committed through his car rental company, Autoclick, based in Llucmajor.
Initially deported to Frankfurt, Llinas was transferred under police custody to Madrid on Nov. 27. On Nov. 28, he appeared in court via videoconference before the Palma judge overseeing his case.
Llinas exercised his right not to testify, and his lawyer requested his release, arguing a lack of access to the case file had created a situation of procedural unfairness. The prosecutor's office requested his imprisonment, a motion supported by a dozen private accusations made by the alleged fraud victims.
In the court order issued Nov. 27 following the hearing, the judge recalled that in September 2022, Llinas’ provisional detention had been decreed while he was a fugitive. The judge is reviewing the evidence against the accused gathered in an investigation conducted by the Spanish Guardia Civil's Traffic Investigation and Analysis Group.
According to this investigation, Llinas took advantage of his position as the administrator of the company Autoclick to sell vehicles to third parties that were not his property but under leasing agreements or financed. The Guardia Civil quantified the number of vehicles at 3,468 and estimated the scam amounted to 48,552,000 euros.
The judge said the crime carries a prison sentence of up to eight years. The judge deemed it a flight risk, as Llinas fled in 2018 after the investigation began and was not located until late October in Taiwan.