Andorra Court Acquits Family in Restaurant Debt Evasion Case

The Tribunal de Corts has acquitted a 73-year-old man and his two daughters of charges of frustrating executive debt collection proceedings linked to the failures of two family-run restaurants in Escaldes-Engordany.

The court ruled that prosecutors did not prove any deliberate intent to conceal assets or obstruct creditor repayments. The case focused on the transfer of furniture, tables, chairs, and refrigerators from the first restaurant—which racked up over €60,000 in unpaid rent and supplier debts—to a second outlet opened in the name of the second daughter.

That initial business, operating from 2007 to 2015 and formally owned by the elder daughter with parental financial and logistical support, began facing troubles around 2010. Prosecutors argued the parents effectively managed it to preserve family assets, despite its formal ownership. They claimed the equipment transfer, which occurred after closure but before any embargo, amounted to evasion, and formally charged the father and first daughter with the main offence—seeking 14 months' suspended prison terms for each, plus over €65,000 in repayments and fines covering debts to landlords, suppliers, and others. They had requested acquittal for the second daughter, who denied knowledge of the equipment's origins.

At the May trial, the father insisted the landlord deemed the items worthless and allowed their storage, while denying ownership or management of either restaurant. The daughters cited economic collapse as the cause of insolvency. Defence lawyers stressed the transfer predated any seizure order and no scheme existed to harm creditors.

The three defendants showed clear relief upon hearing the acquittal. Prosecutors and private accusers may now appeal the decision, though none of the penalties will apply. The ruling ends the criminal case sparked by the outlets' collapses.