Barcelona (AFP) – Spanish police said Tuesday they have arrested the eldest son of Mango clothing empire founder Isak Andic over his father’s death during a hiking trip in December 2024. Jonathan Andic, who was alone with his 71-year-old billionaire father when the retail magnate plunged to his death in the Montserrat mountains near Barcelona, was taken into custody, Catalan regional police said. Police escorted Jonathan, 45, in handcuffs to a court in Martorell near Barcelona for questioning, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
Sources close to the family said they had “total” confidence in Jonathan Andic’s innocence, adding that “there is no and will not be any legitimate evidence against him.” They expressed confidence that “the course of the investigation will demonstrate this,” and called for “respect for the presumption of innocence.” At the time of Isak’s death, authorities said he had fallen from a height near the Salnitre caves in Collbato, an area marked by steep drops and ravines. Investigators initially treated the death as an accident, with early findings suggesting Isak, one of Spain’s richest men, may have slipped. A judge closed the case in January 2025 after finding no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
However, investigators with Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, along with prosecutors and the court, reopened the investigation in October 2025 after citing inconsistencies in Jonathan Andic’s testimony, according to the reports.
Family tensions emerged as Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that authorities had seized Jonathan Andic’s phone shortly after the death. It also cited testimony from Isak Andic’s partner, professional golfer Estefania Knuth, describing the at times tense relations between father and son. According to the newspaper, the two had clashed over the younger Andic’s role in the company. Isak reportedly handed more operational responsibility to Jonathan in 2014, but then resumed tighter control a year later when Mango experienced business difficulties. Knuth was also reportedly involved in a financial dispute with Isak’s three children over the Mango founder’s will.
Authorities have released few details about the investigation, which remains under judicial secrecy, Catalonia’s High Court said Tuesday. Jonathan Andic has denied any responsibility for his father’s death and has maintained that the fall was accidental. He began his professional career in Mango in 2005 after studying audiovisual communication in the United States and business in Spain. Jonathan began to manage the Mango Man line two years later and was the vice-chairman of Mango’s board at the time of his father’s death. “If you are clear about where you want to go and keep moving forward, you will end up achieving your goals,” Jonathan Andic, who rarely gives interviews, said in a 2023 Mango promotional video posted on YouTube.
Born in Istanbul, Isak moved with his family to Barcelona from Turkey as a teenager in the late 1960s. He opened his first Mango shop on the Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona’s famous shopping street, in 1984 with the help of his older brother Nahman. It was hugely successful. His Mango brand quickly mushroomed across Spain and has become one of the world’s leading fashion groups, with about 2,850 stores worldwide. The company offers both professional and casual styles and boasts a presence in more than 120 markets with more than 16,400 employees worldwide, according to its website.
In December 2023, Isak transferred 5.0 percent of his company for the first time to a third party — his right-hand man, Toni Ruiz, the group’s CEO and its current leader. Last October, Ruiz and the other two executors of Isak’s estate issued a statement praising the legacy of what they called a “visionary entrepreneur,” and said they were convinced of Jonathan’s innocence. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated Isak’s fortune at $4.5 billion.
© 2024 AFP
