Jonathan Andic is stepping aside temporarily as vice-chair of Mango after a Spanish court named him a suspect in the death of his father, company founder Isak Andic, who died in December 2024 after falling more than 100 metres from a cliff while hiking in the mountains outside Barcelona.
Andic, 45, said in an open letter on Tuesday that the accusation was “no relation to reality” and called it “serious, unjust and unfounded.” He said the decision to stand aside was made with sadness but that he needed to concentrate all his energy on proving his innocence.
The move comes after prosecutors reopened the investigation in October 2025 and last week a judge named him as a suspect. The court writ said there was evidence to suggest his father’s death may not have been accidental and said Jonathan Andic played an active and premeditated role. It also said the relationship between father and son had deteriorated and cited WhatsApp messages it said expressed hatred, resentment and thoughts of death.
Mango’s board said on Tuesday that it had full confidence the legal proceedings would be resolved favourably. The company, a fashion chain founded by Isak Andic, named Jonathan Andic executive vice-president of its holding company in January 2025, six weeks after the death. His temporary step back now puts one of Spain’s best-known retail families under fresh scrutiny while the investigation moves from suspicion to the central question of what happened on that mountain ledge.
In his letter, Andic said he and his father shared many “happy, cherished and loving moments” and added that they had also faced difficult and challenging times that they overcame through effort, generosity and support. The contrast between that account and the judge’s writ is stark, and it leaves the case resting on the evidence that prosecutors and the court now say they have found, not on the family’s public grief.
