Mango father-son rift over inheritance cited in heir bail order

[MADRID] Mango co-owner Jonathan Andic’s contradictory accounts of his father’s fatal fall together with evidence of their rifts over money and inheritance were cited by a Spanish judge in the heir’s 1 million euro (S$1.48 million) bail order.

In the court ruling reviewed by Bloomberg News, the judge said there were “sufficient indications” to consider that the 71-year-old Mango founder Isak Andic’s death in December 2024 “could be a non-accidental death,” with “active and premeditated participation” by his son. 

Andic, a billionaire who started the clothing retailer in 1984, fell over 100 metres off a cliff while on a hike with his son in the Montserrat mountain nature reserve near Barcelona. On Tuesday, Jonathan was detained and taken to court for questioning over his father’s death, before being released on bail.

The Andic family, worth an estimated 2.54 billion euros according to El Mundo, and Mango have consistently maintained that the tycoon’s death was accidental. Local media reported late last year that the judge in the case had designated Jonathan as an investigated suspect in a possible homicide. He hasn’t been charged with any crime. 

In the bail order, the judge cited discrepancies in the various statements made by Jonathan to the police and the court, including where he was walking at the time of the hike, whether his father had been using his phone and whether he could see him fall. 

Data collected from Jonathan’s car and traffic cameras had shown he had visited the area several times in the week leading to the fall, contrary to his statement that he had only been there “about two weeks earlier,” the ruling said. It also referenced forensic reports concluding that marks found at the scene were inconsistent with a simple accidental slip.

The order further pointed to WhatsApp messages that allegedly showed longstanding tensions between father and son related to money. According to the judge, the messages show Jonathan had an “obsession” with money and had asked his father for an early inheritance, which Isak conceded to in an attempt to maintain cordial relations with his son. 

Investigators said they believe Jonathan became aware in mid-2024 that Andic planned to change his will and create a foundation for charitable purposes, and that this allegedly triggered a “notable” change in his behaviour toward reconciliation with his father.

The order also notes that Jonathan changed phones in March 2025 and erased the contents of his previous device. It references the “disappearance, in strange circumstances” of the earlier phone during a two-day trip to Ecuador. The judge says police were unable to verify the alleged theft or loss of the device.

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The judge ordered a provisional detention, and took Jonathan’s passport, citing a risk of flight due to the seriousness of the alleged offence and his financial means. He avoided prison by paying the bail and has to report to court weekly.

Jonathan denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers said Tuesday that the “homicide theory is unfounded” and that it “stigmatises an innocent man.” The family also defended him, saying that “there is no legitimate evidence against him, nor will any be found.”

Jonathan, 45, is now the main owner of the retail chain along with his two sisters. BLOOMBERG