Karel Christian Mañasco, former Chief Executive Officer of Mansion Group, was sentenced to 12 months in jail after the Supreme Court of Gibraltar found him guilty of multiple counts of contempt of court.
The development in the case of Mañasco comes two years after we first covered the story. Since then, we have published two in-depth articles, with each of them sharing the perspective from both Mañasco and his former employer, the Mansion Group.
After a series of accusations and transfer of guilt, Chief Justice Dudley ruled that it was, in fact, Mañasco who violated court orders. This includes providing false information under oath and, consequently, a global asset freeze order.
According to the details of the lawsuit brought by Mansion and Onsiac, Mañasco has allegedly misused around £5 million in company funds. Violations include providing a false sworn statement, making illegal overseas transfers, and failing to comply with the financial conditions set by the court.
The Gibraltar Court referred to a separate instance where the former CEO transferred more than £400,000 to a Spanish bank account in his wife’s name, even though it was explicitly prohibited. Mañasco also overshot his spending limits by £77,000 and consequently, failed to report these expenditures to the court.
In addition, Mañasco didn’t appear at several court hearings, including two sentencing dates in April and May, something that resulted in the court issuing a bench warrant and reaching a verdict in his absence.
Mañasco is now facing a 12-month sentence that includes a 12-month term, which can be remitted by six months if he repays the £400,000, plus an additional three months for false testimony.
Chief Justice Dudley declined to suspend Mañasco’s sentence despite his clean criminal record, stating the severity of his actions and repeated noncompliance as two main factors. Moreover, Dudley stated that democracy requires respecting court orders, even if they are not aligned with the defendant’s personal views.
Mañasco has 14 days to appeal the verdict without prior court approval, with his lawyer confirming the appeal.
