Spanish Police Bust Organized Crime Gang Laundering Millions
In a major operation, Spanish police have successfully dismantled an organized crime gang that was reportedly laundering hundreds of millions of dollars annually. According to Europol, the European policing organization collaborated with the Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), the Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria), and Eurojust to bring down the illicit network.
The underground “narco bank” run by Syrian nationals has been operating since 2020, facilitating the laundering of an estimated €300m ($292m) per year for drug traffickers and other criminal organizations. This criminal enterprise was centered in a restaurant in Fuenlabrada, near Madrid, and utilized the underground hawala network to transfer funds illegally while avoiding detection by law enforcement.
The breakthrough came on September 27, when more than 200 officers conducted raids on 21 locations in the Spanish provinces of Málaga and Toledo. A total of 32 individuals were arrested, and nearly €3m in criminal assets were seized, including €428,000 in cash, €1.5m in various cryptocurrency accounts, 11 luxury vehicles, and a significant amount of marijuana. Europol reported that €2.9m in cash had already been confiscated during the course of the investigation.
Money laundering remains a pervasive issue globally, with trillions of dollars being laundered each year to support a wide range of criminal activities, from human trafficking to romance fraud. While much of this illicit activity goes undetected, law enforcement agencies occasionally make significant strides in cracking down on these criminal networks.
In June, Europol disclosed details of another successful anti-money laundering operation that targeted a €44m criminal network. The consequences for individuals involved in money laundering are also becoming more severe, as evidenced by the recent sentencing of two foreign nationals to a combined 33 years in jail by the UK’s Kingston Crown Court for their involvement in money laundering.
This latest takedown of an organized crime gang by Spanish authorities underscores the ongoing efforts to combat money laundering and disrupt the financial networks that enable criminal enterprises to thrive. Such operations are crucial in safeguarding communities and dismantling illicit networks that pose a threat to the rule of law.