A network that laundered more than four million euros from scams by sending the money to Nigeria falls

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The Civil Guard has dismantled a criminal organization specializing in the laundering of money from scams committed, both in Spain and in other countries, which sent the illicit origin of the money to Nigeria. Investigators have accredited that the network made more than 9,200 shipments for an amount of more than four million euros.

The operation has resulted in the arrest of 20 people and the investigation of another 11 as alleged perpetrators of the crimes of fraud, money laundering, document falsification, usurpation of civil status and membership of a criminal organization. So far, the investigation has made it possible to identify more than 200 victims spread across different Spanish provinces, as reported by the Civil Guard in a statement.

During the searches, forged identity documents and passports, mobile phones, SIM cards, cash, jewelry, bank documentation and abundant documentation related to money laundering activity were seized. Likewise, the investigators located more than 400 documents used to send the money.

The investigation began after detecting in Miranda de Ebro (Burgos) several money transfers linked to fraud crimes. The first investigations made it possible to verify that a large part of these funds were sent from different municipalities of Biscay to Nigeria, "which made it possible to discover the existence of a perfectly structured organization to hide the illicit origin of the money", as explained by the Armed Institute.

Investigators have accredited that the organization made more than 9,200 money transfers for an amount of more than four million euros, from different types of fraud, such as CEO fraud, 'man in the middle', the so-called "family member in distress" and other scams committed over the Internet.

To avoid anti-money laundering controls, the members of the organization resorted to the so-called 'smurfing', a technique that consists of dividing large amounts of money into numerous small remittances made by different people.

In addition, they used forged identity documents and passports, as well as usurped identities, to open bank accounts and make shipments under the guise of legal operations. The operation was operated in two phases.

In the first, four entries and searches were carried out in homes in Bilbao, Basauri and Santurtzi, where the main leaders of the organization were arrested. Subsequently, action was taken in six establishments dedicated to sending money located in Bilbao, where various irregularities related to the processing of transfers and the use of false documentation were detected.