The son and heir of Isak Andic, the billionaire founder of Spanish fashion giant Mango, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder — more than 16 months after his father plunged to his death during a mountain hike in which the son was the only witness.
Jonathan Andic, 45, was taken into custody by the Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police force, and brought before a judge in Martorell, near Barcelona. The High Court of Justice of Barcelona confirmed that the case is being investigated as a homicide.
Jonathan was released on €1 million bail. The judge confiscated his passport, banned him from leaving Spain, and ordered him to appear in court weekly.
On December 14, 2024, the 71-year-old Isak fell approximately 150 meters to his death while hiking with his son near the Salnitre caves in the Montserrat mountain range outside Barcelona. Jonathan told police he was walking ahead of his father on the trail when his father fell. He raised the alarm, and emergency services responded. No other witnesses saw the fall.
Catalan police initially closed the investigation in January 2025, satisfied with Jonathan’s account. They reopened it in March 2025 after identifying inconsistencies, and by October, formally reclassified the case as a possible homicide.
Investigators identified several points where Jonathan’s account did not hold up. His account of where he parked his car contradicted where it was actually found. He also denied photographing the scene — investigators say he did. His movements on the day did not match the forensic evidence recovered at the site. Investigators are also examining the fact that Jonathan had visited the Montserrat trail three times in the week before the fatal hike — a detail that has drawn particular scrutiny.
Isak’s girlfriend, Spanish professional golfer Estefanía Knuth, 52, told authorities that the relationship between father and son was strained. Investigators are also examining whether inheritance and financial disputes may have contributed to the motive. Isak’s estate was valued at approximately €4.5 billion at the time of his death; Jonathan and his two sisters now hold 95% of Mango’s ownership.
The elder Andic, born in Turkey, founded Mango in Barcelona in 1984 and built it into one of Europe’s leading fast fashion retailers, with 2,900 stores across 120 markets and €3.8 billion in sales last year.
Jonathan joined the company in 2005 and served as CEO from 2014, but Isak reportedly resumed tighter control within a year after the company incurred losses of nearly €100 million under his watch. Following Isak’s death, Mango appointed Jonathan as vice chairman of its board. CEO Toni Ruiz, who became chairman in 2025, holds the remaining 5% of the company.
A family spokesperson said the family has “total confidence” in Jonathan’s innocence and that “there is no and will not be any legitimate evidence against him.” The family added it would continue cooperating fully with authorities and expressed confidence that “the course of the investigation will demonstrate this.”
Family lawyer Cristóbal Martell called the homicide theory “incoherent and painful” and said it “stigmatises an innocent man.”
Jonathan has consistently maintained that his father’s death was a tragic accident.
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