Spanish Police Arrest 5 in Suspected $540M Crypto Fraud Operation

Spanish police arrested five members of a suspected crypto fraud operation that allegedly laundered 460 million euros ($540 million) stolen from over 5,000 victims.

The bust, carried out by Guarda Civil, the armed wing of the country’s law enforcement agencies, saw three arrests from searches in the Canary Islands and two in Madrid on June 25.

The investigation was supported Europol, as well as police forces from Estonia, France and the U.S.

The criminal network raised funds through cash withdrawals, bank transfers and crypto payments, Europol said in a statement on Monday.

Investigators suspect the organization of having set up a corporate and banking network out of Hong Kong to receive, store and transfer criminal funds through accounts in different names and in different exchanges.

The investigation is still in progress, Europol added.