Criminal ring dedicated to money laundering and drug trafficking financing arrested in Seville
The Spanish Civil Guard has dismantled a criminal organisation in Seville dedicated to money laundering and the financing of drug trafficking networks. 22 people have been arrested, including a businessman and two lawyers from Seville considered to be the leaders of this group that is believed to have laundered around 11 million euros.
The Civil Guard has carried out 14 raids and searches in different homes and offices located mainly in the province of Seville.
During the operations, 257,000 euros in cash, jewellery and luxury items, 12 high-end vehicles, numerous electronic devices and documentation containing information on the business networks under investigation were seized.
415 bank accounts with 1.5 million euros have also been blocked by the courts and 20 properties with a value of nearly 3.2 million euros have been placed on hold.
The organisation used complex corporate structures to conceal the illicit origin of the funds and facilitate their integration into the legal circuit. To do this, they combined shell companies and real businesses, using both companies with no real commercial activity and highly active leisure businesses. These establishments include a well-known restaurant and drinks venue, as well as a food store in the Aljarafe district of Seville, where they channelled large sums of money.
The organization would also have obtained money from the legal monetary circuit with fraudulent financing using investigated companies with which they made requests for financing from different banks, such as ICO loans. Subsequently, they left these companies with debts in the name of front men, who would be the ones to face the outstanding balances.
The network offered its services to powerful drug trafficking organisations based in southern Spain to launder the profits obtained from drug trafficking.
The detainees face charges of money laundering, fraud, falsification of documents and membership of a criminal organisation. The operation was carried out by the Regional Centre for Analysis and Intelligence against Drug Trafficking (CRAIN) of the Andalusian Zone and the UOPJ of Seville, with the support of the Rapid Action Group. Europol also collaborated to identify and track the movement of money through various countries.
