• 2 min read
Spain busts €140M cyber fraud ring, arrests four
Spanish police say they dismantled a €140 million fraud and money-laundering network tied to investment scams and 2024 BEC attacks.
Image: BleepingComputer
Spanish police say they have dismantled a cybercrime and money-laundering organization that generated €140 million ($160 million) through investment fraud and business email compromise (BEC) attacks. Four people were arrested in Spain, Portugal, and Panama.
Authorities described the operation as industrial-scale, involving at least 800 bank accounts, 120 business accounts, and 67 external accomplices who acted as money mules.
According to police, the suspects built and managed a vast network of accounts used to receive illicit funds from numerous victims, then quickly moved the money through additional accounts to obscure its origin and place it out of reach of investigators.
The investigation confirmed that €94 million ($107 million) moved through the network. Police also linked another €61 million ($69.5 million) to the group, specifically connecting it to BEC operations in 2024. In the police statement, those scams were described as “CEO fraud” and “false-invoice fraud”—social engineering schemes that impersonate senior executives and redirect legitimate payments to accounts controlled by criminals.
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The case began after investigators detected signs of money laundering in 19 companies tied to the operation. With support from Interpol and Europol, police carried out searches at six premises in Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, and Porto. Another suspect was arrested in Panama.
Police said the two suspects arrested outside Spain had recently left the country but continued supporting the operation from abroad. During the raids, officers seized 15 computers and more than 170 smartphones, which they believe were used to execute thousands of fraudulent transfers.
Authorities also froze €3 million ($3.4 million) in criminal proceeds, which will be made available to victims. Spanish police say the money-laundering network has now been effectively dismantled and that all of its main operators have been arrested.
Security Editor
Sophia unpacks the invisible wars happening on our networks. Covering cybersecurity, privacy legislation, and cryptography, she exposes how our data is weaponized and defended. Before joining for(geeks), she spent years as a penetration tester. She's the reason the rest of the team uses physical security keys.
via BleepingComputer
