Prosecutors call for Afinsa directors to face up to 19 years in jail for fraud

Scheme claimed 190,000 victims who lost money in postage stamp scam

Afinsa, the Spanish collectibles company, was third largest in the world after Sotheby’s and Christie’s, before its offices in Madrid were raided by police and closed amid allegations of fraud in 2006. 

With more than 190,000 victims being duped out of their money, prosecutors have called for prison sentences of up to 19 years for the directors, and compensation of €2.5 billion.

One of the largest investment frauds in Spain of recent years was allegedly perpetrated by the company. Like most of the so-called ‘Ponzi’ schemes, which rely on paying profits from new investments, or as in this case artificially inflating the so-called value of stamps involved, everything crashed overnight.