Enric Duran, dubbed the ‘Spanish Robin Hood of the Banks’, for swindling 39 banks out of half a million euros to redistribute them to organizations fighting against the established financial system, spoke to RT Spanish to reveal his moves and motives.
In hiding for more than a year, and in serious trouble with the
courts, he nonetheless recently decided to break his silence and
start speaking to the press to explain his vision and how he went
about achieving it. Speaking to RT Spanish by Skype from an
undisclosed location, he talks of the ingenious and simple tactic
he used to cheat dozens of banks out of a half-million euros.
“I realized that loans below 6,000 euro don’t show up in
Spain’s bank database,” he says, revealing the first step on
the way to accumulating the fortune that later earned him his
moniker.
“As soon as I realized this, I started taking out loans of a
little over 5,000 euro, accumulating a certain amount over time.
Then, having transferred the whole sum to a single account, and
having the ability to prove my financial eligibility, I started
taking out bigger credit. It was very convenient to take
advantage of the fact that Spain doesn’t update its banking
database for months on end. That is how, from December 2007 to
January 2008 I was able to take out the bulk of the money,”
Duran explained.
The anti-capitalist takes pride in his actions against the
banking system and believes that they are another step towards
networking between other anti-capitalists and the setting up of
organizations that can work together toward a global system that
is not accountable to the established financial order.
From 2006 until 2008, Duran took out 68 commercial and personal
loans from 39 banks in Spain and gave the money to social
activities, like financing conferences against capitalism and
providing cameras for an alternative TV channel.
“We wish to create a different world, with our own rules and
principles, without a global responsibility to the modern
system,” he said of his dream vision. “I knew for a fact
that my actions could result in legal measures against me.”
After spending 2 months in jail, Duran was freed on 50,000 euro
bail in February 2013 to face trial. After being convicted he
decided to abscond rather than face eight years behind bars.
“I had reasons not to appear at the proceedings. I had
presented the regional court with 30 pieces of evidence in
support of my case, but it refused every single one of them. On
top of that, I only learned about the trial three weeks before
the fact, instead of four months in advance, when it was being
planned.”
Duran now continues to work towards his goals from a far-away
location, his current project being the development of the
Catalan Integral Cooperative – a transnational initiative that
puts emphasis on self-development and management, as well as
networking and problem solving without the involvement of banks
and other types of regulation. It’s strictly by the people, for
the people.