Spanish police dismantle €140 million investment fraud and BEC money-laundering ring
Spanish police have dismantled a cybercrime and money-laundering organization that generated an estimated €140 million ($160 million) from investment fraud and business email compromise (BEC) attacks, BleepingComputer reports. Four suspects were arrested across Spain, Portugal, and Panama in an operation coordinated with Interpol and Europol.
Investigators describe an industrial-scale laundering apparatus: the network controlled more than 800 bank accounts and 120 business accounts, supported by 67 external accomplices acting as money mules. Stolen funds were immediately dispersed through chains of transactions across mule accounts in third countries, placing the proceeds beyond the reach of victims and authorities. Police confirmed that €94 million was channeled through the network directly, with another €61 million linked to the group through BEC operations conducted in 2024 — schemes described as “CEO fraud” and false-invoice fraud, in which criminals impersonated executives to divert corporate payments.
The investigation began after police detected signs of money laundering in 19 companies tied to the operation. Raids on six premises in Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, and Porto yielded 15 computers and over 170 smartphones believed to have been used to execute thousands of fraudulent transfers. Two of the suspects had recently left Spain but continued running the scheme from abroad; one was arrested in Panama.
Authorities froze €3 million in criminal proceeds, which will be made available to victims, and say the laundering network has been effectively dismantled with all of its main operators in custody. The case follows a wave of similar European actions this month, including a Dutch takedown of an investment-fraud ring with losses exceeding €100 million.