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In a massive sting operation straight out of a crime thriller, Spanish police have smashed one of Europe’s most powerful underworld banks – a slick, secretive syndicate laundering millions using the ancient and shadowy “hawala” method.
Cash, crypto and contraband – the works.
In unbelievable scenes, Spain’s National Police, backed by EUROPOL and EUROJUST, swooped on a web of luxury and illegality. The secret January raids – now revealed – saw over 250 officers hit 13 locations across Spain and Belgium in a coordinated blitz, nabbing 17 suspects, seizing mountains of loot and blowing apart a money-moving machine that had slipped under the radar for years.
Among the spoils?
€205,000 in hard cash
€183,000 in crypto
18 flash motors worth €207,000
10 posh properties worth a jaw-dropping €2.5 million
Designer handbags topping €230,000
Luxury cigars valued at an eyebrow-raising €622,000
Fine wines worth over €7,000
Jewels, watches, gadgets – you name it
The gang’s operation, hailed as ‘the most powerful hawala network ever uncovered in Europe’ by UDEF investigators, was a tale of two mafias: one Arabic-rooted crew collecting cash worldwide, and one Chinese-based arm pumping the money into Spain – all while dodging official financial systems and pocketing fat profits in crypto.
The age-old trick with a modern twist
The hawala method, centuries-old and virtually untraceable, operates like a handshake banking system – no paper trail, no bank account, just trusted middlemen, called hawaladars, scribbling notes, pinging encrypted messages and moving millions under the noses of authorities.
Here, the Arabic faction acted as global collectors, scooping up dirty dosh from all corners and funnelling it into Spain. The Chinese faction? They played banker – dishing out the cash locally and collecting crypto as their cut. These money mules didn’t carry briefcases. No, they packed bundles into hidden compartments of their cars and drove it across Spain like some high-stakes Uber Eats for criminals.
Millions shifted in months
Investigators uncovered 32 transactions worth over €5.5 million in just three months. But that’s small change compared to what one ‘bridge address’ was hiding – $21 million channelled between June 2022 and September 2023.
The sheer scale led to a full-blown intelligence war room set up in Almeria, where Spain’s National Court (Juzgado de Instrucción No. 3) and the local Fiscalía monitored the action in real time via multiple screens. Police watched live as officers stormed homes and businesses in Madrid, Valencia, Malaga, Cadiz, Almeria and Belgium’s Antwerp, scooping up encrypted mobiles, laptops and digital ledgers that read like an underworld accountant’s diary.
Busted and behind bars
Out of the 17 arrested, 15 are now in jail, charged with money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation. According to reports, the Chinese branch – largely based in Madrid – was linked to human trafficking funds, while the Arabic faction was reinvesting profits into more illicit trades.
The hawaladar boss, described by EUROPOL as a ‘high-value target’, ran the books and assigned brokers to handle operations. His system was so slick it offered financial services to anyone: cartels, traffickers or even average Joes – no questions asked, just crypto and cash.
Social media savvy meets ancient crime
In a chillingly modern twist, this underground bank advertised on social media, luring clients worldwide and pretending to be a legitimate money transfer business. But behind the friendly Facebook posts was a vault of vice, propping up entire webs of criminal enterprise.
This wasn’t just money laundering – it was a black-market banking empire hiding in plain sight.
Game over for the ghost bank
This extraordinary sting marks a historic win for Spanish police. It’s a knock-out punch to a criminal colossus that’s been playing banker to the underworld for years. Spain’s shadow economy just lost its biggest lender.
News about the Spanish lifestyle.
Stay tuned for more UK news.
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