Seven arrested in operation targeting the laundering of proceeds from online scams, including in Alicante

The Policía Nacional, Customs Surveillance and Europol have dismantled a network suspected of laundering money obtained through international online scams. The operation resulted in nine arrests, including seven people arrested in a second phase carried out in Madrid, Alicante and Tenerife, according to the Ministry of the Interior on 28 October 2026.

The Ministry estimates that the organisation managed and laundered more than €3 million. The money is believed to have come from various forms of online fraud: from intercepting business emails to divert payments, to commercial impersonation and romance scams. The investigation also uncovered further attempted frauds.

To conceal the source of the funds, the suspects are alleged to have used accounts held by shell companies and people recruited as ‘money mules’, as well as transfers, foreign currency shipments and cash withdrawals. They used some of the money to buy mainly Spanish wine, as well as machinery and industrial vehicles, which they then exported to African countries.

The investigation began in 2025, following an alert from the Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering (Sepblac) about suspicious financial transactions in accounts linked to companies. On 11 August, two people were arrested in Torrelavega and three searches were carried out. The subsequent phase included five searches at homes and at a company’s premises in Madrid, Fuenlabrada, Las Rozas, Majadahonda and Adeje. Documents, electronic equipment, jewellery and cash were seized.

The identified victims include businesses and individuals in several European countries, as well as Taiwan and Peru. International police and judicial cooperation involved Germany, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy, Cyprus and Macedonia.

The case is being overseen by Santander Court of First Instance and Investigation No. 3. The operation in Alicante places the province among the locations involved in the police deployment, as part of an investigation into a network with victims and operations in several countries. The arrested suspects are presumed innocent while judicial proceedings continue.

Article produced by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, using public sources.