Police operation against money laundering mafia in Palma, Mallorca

Police during the Tuesday operation. | Alejandro Sepúlveda

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma19/02/2022 08:01
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Bashkim Osmani, the alleged boss of the mafia gang targeted by Tuesday's massive police operation against money laundering, is expected to be brought to Mallorca from Croatia next week. Osmani was arrested at his BO Palazzo Hotel in Porec as part of the police operation, which was carried out simultaneously in various countries.

The 55-year-old Kosovar Albanian, whose base is his five-million-euro mansion in Camp de Mar in one of the most exclusive areas of Andratx, was at his hotel in northern Croatia. Investigators from the Guardia Civil and the National Police went to Croatia to collaborate in the arrest, there having been a fear that a leak might have ruined the entire operation. Osmani is said to have contacts across Croatia and to have under his control a former head of the Croatian secret service as well as current agents.

He did not resist arrest, and it is suggested that he had anticipated that his lawyers would get him released. However, he is being held in a maximum security prison, awaiting transfer to Mallorca. Investigators say that it is crucial that he is brought to Mallorca. Were he to remain in eastern Europe, he could receive "preferential treatment".