Ten passengers accused of faking 'accident' injuries on a bus in Malaga

Ten passengers are accused of faking an accident on a bus in Teatinos, Malaga city, in 2018. The Public Prosecutor's Office maintains that ten passengers faked an accident on a Malaga Transport Company (EMT) bus in order to claim insurance compensation. Most of the defendants are members of the same family and were travelling with two children.

The events occurred at 9.50pm on 22 November 2018 on a the number 25 route that was travelling along Avenida Jiménez Fraud, next to the Teatinos university campus.

According to the prosecutor's brief of provisional conclusions, the defendants took advantage of a braking manoeuvre of the vehicle to "intentionally" throw themselves on the floor of the bus and claim for the injuries suffered.

A representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office added that the defendants jointly filed a lawsuit against the insurance company of the bus in which they claimed damages for the alleged accident.

The lawsuit was heard by a court of first instance, which handed down a judgment in January 2021 and partially upheld the passengers' claims, according to the indictment.

However, the case has now ended up in criminal proceedings as the Public Prosecutor's Office considers that the facts constitute a crime of fraud, for which it is asking for two years in prison for each of the defendants, as well as a fine of 3,000 euros.