SPAIN POLICE DISAPPEARS FRAUD NETWORK WITH CRYPTOMONES OF USD $ 540 MILLION

By Hannah Pérez

The Spanish Civil Guard, in coordination with Europol and international agencies, dismantled a network of fraud with cryptocurrencies that operated from Hong Kong. Five people were arrested.

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The Civil Guard arrested five alleged members of a crypto fraud that affected 5,000 victims.
The network operated internationally and washed USD $ 540 million through Hong Kong structures.
Europol and Police Forces of Estonia, France and the US collaborated in the investigation.

The Spanish Police have carried out one of the most relevant operations in Europe in terms of digital financial crime, to stop a fraud network that allegedly managed to subtract and bleach USD $ 540 million in cryptocurrencies to thousands of victims.

The operation, led by the Spanish Civil Guard, culminated in the arrest of five people accused of belonging to an international network dedicated to cryptocurrency fraud that would have affected more than 5,000 people in different countries.

The organization, according to the information disseminated by local news means, operated through the company FX Winning Limitedbased in Hong Kong and dedicated to investment in Forex markets (currency market).

The criminal cell was dismantled after months of investigation and intelligence work in which, in addition to the Civil Guard, police agencies of Estonia, France and the United States participated, thus consolidating an important operation of international cooperation.

It appeared to be a lawful platform

According to a report of The countrythe company FX Winning Limitedwith ramifications in Spain, the United States, Estonia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, among other countries, offered high and safe profitability through platforms such as fxwinning.net and fxwinning.pro, which turned out to be fraudulent.

His slogans were typical in this type of scams: “Guaranteed profitability ““latest generation algorithmic trading” either “Total security thanks to financial arbitration”, According to coverage. In addition, the platforms showed a professional appearance, with promotional videos in YouTube and strong presence in social networks such as Telegram and Instagram.

This facade was enough to attract some 500 Spanish victimsreaching the 39 million euros scammed only in Spain.

Classic Ponzi Scheme

Behind the legitimacy image, the company operated as a typical Ponzi scheme, where the system works as new funds constantly captures, but collapses once the entrance slows down.

The network, which operated between 2020 and 2023, used sophisticated laundering mechanisms, including the conversion of cryptocurren Coinpayments and its posterior channeling through screen and accounts societies Exchange as Binance and Coinbaseaccording to the news agency cited.

Those involved would also have channeled part of the illicit benefits through the purchase of luxury goods, including high -end cars and real estate in countries such as the United States, which registered in the name of third parties without known economic activity.

The Spanish authorities managed to realize the arrests in two main scenarios: three of the suspects were captured during raids in the Canary Islands, while the other two were located and detained in the city of Madrid.

Europol continues the investigations

Europolthat he has been collaborating with the investigation since 2023, said in a report that the network would have used payment catwalks and user accounts in the name of different people and in different bags to receive, store and transfer criminal funds.

The investigation is still ongoing, he added Europolidentified the Online fraud like “one of the main key to the internal security of the EU“And a”epidemic“That affects both citizens and public companies and institutions.

“Europol expects online fraud to exceed other types of serious and organized crime, since it is being accelerated by AI, which helps social engineering and access to data“They added in the report.

Hannah Estefanía Pérez / Diariobitcoin

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