Spain probes Istanbul-born clothing titan's death as homicide: Media

ISTANBUL

Spanish authorities are probing the mysterious death of İsak Andiç, the Istanbul-born founder of the Mango fashion empire, as a potential homicide, with his son emerging as the prime suspect, according to media reports.

Born in 1953 to a Sephardic Jewish family, İsak Andiç spent the first 14 years of his life in Türkiye. His family retains Turkish citizenship and visits Türkiye several times a year.

His family’s move to Spain in 1968 was driven by economic challenges after his father’s business of importing electrical equipment was disrupted by new Turkish import laws.

İsak Andiç, who built Mango into one of Europe’s largest fashion retailers, tragically fell to his death while hiking in the mountains near Barcelona in December 2024, leaving the industry and public in shock.

Police in the northeastern region of Catalonia have now shifted their probe from an accident to a possible homicide centring on his son, Jonathan Andiç, daily El País said, citing "different sources with knowledge of the investigation.”

Jonathan Andiç, who was the only person with his father at the time of the incident, has provided "inconsistent" testimony in two declarations that have "fuelled suspicion," El País said.

"The witness contradicted himself, left grey areas and described events that did not match up" with the Catalan police's inspection of the scene in the Montserrat mountains, the newspaper added.

Another testimony by Estefania Knuth, a professional golfer who was İsak Andiç's partner, highlighted "the poor relations between father and son," El País said.

Barcelona-based daily La Vanguardia, also citing "sources with knowledge of the investigation," said the investigating judge formally changed Jonathan Andiç's status from witness to suspect in late September and that police were combing through the contents of his mobile phone.

The family "is confident that this process will finish as soon as possible and that Jonathan Andiç's innocence will be demonstrated," according to their spokespeople cited by El País.

İsak Andiç was one of Spain's richest people, with Forbes estimating his and his family's fortune at $4.5 billion.