Man arrested in Spain in connection to two-year-old fraud case

A 41-year-old man who has been wanted in Cyprus for the last two years over an internet fraud case has been arrested in Spain, police said on Friday.

The case concerns an offence that took place in October 2020, when a Paphos resident complained he had contacted a gardening business to undertake some work at his house.

As part of the agreement, the complainant sent €17,850 to a bank account of the alleged company as an advance payment.

Later, the complainant received an e-mail informing him to cancel the transaction because the company was unable to receive the money.

He was then given instructions via e-mail, to submit the money to a bank account in the Netherlands.

The complainant later found the company did not have an account in the Netherlands.

The 41-year-old man was arrested late on Thursday. Officers from Paphos CID travelled to Madrid to bring the man back to the island.