This international meeting for private law and notarial and registrar practice focused on the fight against property fraud and attracted experts from Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Spain. The UIC Barcelona lecturers shared their experiences and knowledge acquired during their professional practice in Spain. This not only allowed comparison of the different mechanisms and judicial rulings, but also enabled participants to establish the bases for joint proceedings in future to help fight fraud at supranational level.

Professor Bosch, a member of the Barcelona Court of Arbitration, described the new modus operandi of criminal organizations dedicated to this kind of fraud. He said, “Today's sharks use the Internet and financial manoeuvres to carry out illegal activities. Fraud is increasingly sophisticated and criminals prefer larger operations involving several inside people who are able to modify information. An example is selling land that is supposedly zoned for development and licensed for construction when it actually fulfils neither of those characteristics”.

Professor del Rey, the head registrar at the No. 2 Property Registry in Vic, examined the current situation and solutions for money laundering. He said, “To ensure that land registration regulations fulfil their purpose, they should allow professionals to detect attempted fraud at the outset. They should also strengthen registrars’ independence from the other parties to the agreement while guaranteeing and protecting their impartiality”.