The Barcelona police checked off when a tourist claims a stolen clock worth $ 800,000

Spanish authorities have accused a US tourist of having excessive the value of a watch for almost 20 times after being attacked in the middle of the day.

Seth Bernstein and his family went through the medieval streets of the Gothic district of Barcelona last week when he was attacked in an incident recorded by the camera.

He claimed that he was wearing a Hublot Big Bang model that was a special edition worth $ 800,000. But the police estimated the clock at $ 45,000.

Mr. Bernstein said that the Spanish authorities had lied because the extent of crime in a city that was "haunted by thieves" was "embarrassing".

At the beginning of this year, the Catalan police were forced to found a special unit called "Mossos" to control gangs from "relojeros", specialized watch thieves that represent the latest innovation in street crime in Barcelona, ​​a city for which they are notorious.

But the officers of the special unit have become experts for the stolen watches sold on the black market of Barcelona, ​​and they did not believe Mr. Bernstein's report.

You said his version of the events did not match the video material of the robbery, in which a young man can be seen who sneaks behind the US tourists before he grabs his arm and pulls out the clock. Mr. Bernstein said he was attacked by a razor -swinging attacker who "cut my wrist".

"There was definitely a crime, but there are also inconsistencies in the victim's statement and all of this was forwarded to a judge," a spokesman for Mossos told The Telegraph.

In conversation with the New York Post, Mr. Bernstein did not provide any information about the type of stolen clock, but only said that "the insurance company will pay for it".

The specialty unit for watch theft has used civilian police officers on the streets of Barcelona to take criminals in a fresh act, while other agents examine robberies and the gangs involved.

The investigators have also started to carefully examine the victims' claims, since they suspect that some exaggerate the value of the stolen possessions.