A Portuguese businessman allegedly orchestrated a multi-year ponzi scheme that siphoned €37 million from foreign nationals seeking golden visas through property investments that never materialized, according to Público reporting cited by The Resident.
The IR Group, operating through a company registered in the businessman’s mother’s name, purportedly sold non-existent apartments in luxury developments while guaranteeing annual returns between 7% and 10%. Victims span multiple nationalities.
The operation allegedly relied on a professional presentation to establish credibility. An office on Lisbon’s prestigious Avenida da Liberdade, polished marketing materials, and references to operations in Hong Kong and Beijing created an appearance of legitimacy, while the IR Group deliberately mimicked the name of a foreign company founded in 1989.
Brazilian investor Cláudio Fetter exemplifies the alleged scheme’s mechanics. He paid in full for a Lagos plot that was never constructed and received neither a property deed, rental income, nor return of his documentation.
Suspicions emerged in 2021 when clients began demanding their promised returns. Without liquidity to meet these obligations, the company initiated a Special Revitalisation Process (PER), which creditors and Portugal’s Tax Authority contend served only to delay collapse while assets disappeared.
One transaction supposedly involved selling 85 apartments at Lagos Beach for €13 million to a company linked to an associate of the man allegedly behind the operation. The company never paid that sum.
The IR Group and its subsidiary Importantaltura declared insolvency in June 2025, exposing the full scope of the alleged operation. Lawyers, creditors, and tax authorities have identified what they describe as evidence of asset dissipation, simulated transactions, and mismanagement throughout the company’s operations.
The Lagos Beach Hotel & SPA project intended to redevelop Praia Dona Ana’s decades-old eyesore, the former Hotel Golfinho. That property remains untransformed.
Portugal terminated real estate investment routes under its golden visa program in 2023. The alleged scheme represents another instance of multi-million euro investment migration fraud claims in Europe, following Ireland’s closure of its Immigrant Investor Programme in 2023 after systematic mismanagement emerged.
Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Newmark Holdings was affiliated with Howard W Lutnick. Following clarification, IMI confirms that this is not the case and that Newmark Holdings has no affiliation with Howard W. Lutnick.
