The request from the Prosecutor's Office arises from the disparity between cases reaching their desk, mostly alerted by social services or nursing homes, and notifications received directly from notaries.
According to the public ministry, only two cases of financial abuse have been reported by notaries across the Barcelona demarcation in the last two years, a figure that prosecutor Torres considers very low given the frequency of suspicions.
“"Notaries should inform the Prosecutor's Office of all cases where they see that a vulnerable person, or one with a certain disorientation, intends to grant a power of attorney or perform a transcendental legal act."
Torres insists that notaries must halt any transcendental legal act, such as a sale or power of attorney, if the elderly or vulnerable person is not fully capable and is accompanied by family or friends showing signs of “undue influence.”
The State Attorney General's Office is currently working to improve communication between notaries and prosecutors, in addition to preparing a protocol that facilitates specialized prosecutors' access to the histories of those affected.
Elderly people represent approximately 65% of the vulnerable victims attended by the sections of the Barcelona Prosecutor's Office, which coordinate civil procedures (led by Antoni Torres) and criminal procedures (headed by Sílvia Armero) to expedite the response against fraud and misappropriation.
