Ruiz-Mateos arrested ahead of court date
Former chief of bust Rumasa conglomerate to appear before magistrates on fraud charges
José María Ruiz-Mateos, the owner of the collapsed business conglomerate Nueva Rumasa, was arrested at his Madrid home on Wednesday to ensure he appears before magistrates in Palma on Thursday.
Ruiz-Mateos stands accused of defrauding the Miralles group of companies of 13.9 million euros during a hotel-sale transaction in 2006. Ruiz-Mateos was being held at a police station in Pozuelo de Alarcón and was expected to be taken to Palma under police guard.
The businessman's spokesman said that Ruiz-Mateos, who claims he was going to attend voluntarily, is "an 81-year-old man with precarious health but selfless [...] morals."
