Category: Spain

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Eurojust supports searches into bribery and money laundering

Source: Eurojust

Investigations into corruption, trading and the influencing and bribery of foreign public officials have led to 13 searches across France, Spain and the Netherlands. A multinational company is being investigated for possible corruption and money laundering involving civilian and military equipment.

French authorities have started multiple investigations into the company. The first investigation, opened at the end of 2016, concerns the sale of defence material and the construction of a naval base, around which there are suspicions of corruption.

A second investigation, opened in June 2023, concerns the suspected corruption and influencing of foreign public officials linked to the sale of civilian and military equipment abroad.

As the company has subsidiaries in Spain and the Netherlands that needed to be searched, Eurojust helped connect the French authorities with the Spanish and Dutch authorities. Eurojust ensured swift cooperation between the authorities by organising a coordination centre. The coordination centre was set up for the execution of mutual legal assistance requests sent by France as well as to relay and solve any urgent issues arising amongst the three countries during an action day held on 26 June. The action day led to 15 searches at several of the subsidiaries in France, Spain and the Netherlands. The searches were undertaken by over 80 officers, including 65 in France, 8 in Spain and 12 in the Netherlands.

The authorities involved in the actions were as follows:

  • France: National Financial Public Prosecution Office (PPO); Central Office against corruption and tax fraud.
  • Netherlands: National Office for Serious Fraud, Environmental Crime and Asset Confiscation; Fiscal Information and Investigation Service
  • Spain: Anticorruption Public Prosecution Office (PPO); Central Court number 3 at the Audiencia Nacional; Judicial National Police Unit attached to the Anticorruption PPO
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Drug trafficking network active across Europe dismantled

Source: Eurojust

Drugs used for the group’s illegal activities were supplied by members in Spain. The drugs were then transported across Europe by couriers, who concealed the supplies in trucks that were in the possession of the organisation. Members based in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Ukraine, then sold the drugs on their local drug markets.

Drug trafficking remains one of the most serious security threats in Europe. Europol’s report on criminal networks shows that 50% of the most threatening criminal networks active in the EU are involved in drug trafficking, and 50% of all homicides in Europe are directly connected to drug trafficking. It is crucial that judicial authorities from different countries collaborate in their investigations, as drug trafficking frequently crosses borders. Eurojust has observed a twofold increase in cross-border drug trafficking cases since 2020, with over 2 462 cases supported in 2023.

The Italian authorities initiated investigations into the drug trafficking network in December 2021. The investigations revealed that the group, consisting of individals from various nationalities, was operating across Europe. To ensure that the group could not evade justice, Italian authorities used Eurojust’s facilities to facilitate investigations in other countries and execute house searches and seizures.

At a coordination centre at Eurojust, in the early morning of 2 July, authorities from Italy, Belgium, Germany, Spain and Ukraine worked together with Europol and Interpol to arrest 13 suspects. During house searches, several electronic devices, drugs and money was found.

The operation was financially supported by the @ON network, which funded by the European Commission and led by the Italian Antimafia Directorate (DIA).

The actions were carried out by the following authorities:

  • Italy: Procure della Repubblica di L’Aquila e Teramo (Public Prosecution Offices of L’Aquila and Teramo); Carabinieri Raggruppamento Operativo Speciale (Special Operational Group) of L’Aquila
  • Belgium: PPO Mons; Federal Police of Mons
  • Germany: Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Düsseldorf (General Public Prosecutor`s Office Düsseldorf); Landeskriminalamt Nordrhein-Westfalen (State Criminal Police Office of North Rhine-Westphalia)
  • Spain: Juzgado central of Instruccion num 6 (Central Investigative Judge num. 6 at Audiencia Nacional); Fiscalia Antidroga at Audiencia Nacional (PP Antidrug at Audiencia Nacional); Group OCT Udyco Central of Policia Nacional (Group OCT Udyco Central of National Police)
  • Ukraine: Prosecutor General’s Office; Counter Narcotics Department of the National
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Network of luxury car thieves dismantled with support of Eurojust

Source: Eurojust

A large-scale ring of luxury car thieves has been dismantled with the support of Eurojust and Europol. Using straw men and underprivileged people, the criminals hired or leased luxury vehicles, which they later registered in their own names through corrupt connections in official institutions.

The cars were resold outside the EU, including in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. In a series of recent coordinated actions in Spain, France, Germany, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine, 13 suspects were arrested for fraud, forgery and money laundering.

© – Ukrainian National Police

Through a coordination centre at Eurojust, over sixty places were also searched by national authorities. Several luxury vehicles, communication equipment and documents were seized, as well as over EUR 100 000 in cash.

The Spanish authorities launched their investigation in 2022 following reports of luxury cars going missing from legitimately operating car rental and lease companies in and around Malaga. These investigations revealed that dozens of vehicles were ultimately stolen across Europe by a network of linked criminals. They exploited around fifty vulnerable and underprivileged people by using their documents, such as driving licences and passports, to hire or lease luxury cars.

Through corrupt contacts in official institutions, they managed to register the hired vehicles on to their personal documents, so they could sell them in the European Union and beyond, including Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Some of the stolen vehicles were transported in containers to conceal the cars.

Investigations were later also started in France, Poland and Ukraine, which revealed links between different criminal groups using the same modus operandi. In March of this year, with the support and funding of Eurojust, authorities in France, Spain and Ukraine set up a joint investigation team into the car thefts. Eurojust also organised two preparatory coordination meetings to prepare for the recent action day week and set up the coordination centre.

Europol assisted the operations against the criminal network by producing criminal intelligence packages. It also provided an operational coordination centre to support the actions at police level.

Operations on the ground were carried out at the request of and by the following authorities:

  • Spain: Investigative Court no. 1, Málaga; Public Prosecutor’s Office, Málaga; Spanish National Police
  • France: Judiciary Tribunal, Grasse; National Gendarmerie, Central Office against Roving Crime (OCDLI)
  • Germany: Public Prosecutor’s Offices Essen and Osnabrück; Police Departments of Essen and Osnabrück
  • Latvia: 3rd Unit International Cooperation Department State Police
  • Poland: Public Prosecutor’s Office, Warsaw
  • Ukraine: Prosecutor General’s Office; Main Investigation Department and Department of Strategic Investigations of National Police
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Eurojust supports arrest of nine human traffickers in France and Spain

Source: Eurojust

An organised crime group (OCG) active in human trafficking and sexual exploitation has been exposed, and suspected members were arrested with the support of Eurojust and Europol. The arrest of nine suspects in France and Spain has stopped the structured human trafficking network in its tracks. Six victims of the human traffickers were taken to safety.

After French authorities discovered an apartment that was used for prostitution in 2022, an investigation was launched that exposed the network’s activities in human trafficking and sexual exploitation in France and Spain. The victims, mostly from Latin America, the Caribbean and Romania, were taken to France and then moved around the country to engage in prostitution in apartments rented for short periods by the OCG. Members of the network used the internet to advertise paid sexual services.

Following the operation and arrests of the suspects, six victims in France were offered assistance and shelter by a dedicated non-profit organisation.

To prepare for the action day, Eurojust organised a coordination meeting between the French and Spanish authorities, ensuring smooth cooperation for the coordinated actions. Eurojust also assisted in the execution of several European Investigation Orders, freezing orders and European Arrest Warrants.

These actions were carried out by the following authorities:

  • France: JIRS Nancy (Interregional Specialised Jurisdiction) and OCRTEH (Central Office against human trafficking)
  • Spain: Audiencia Nacional (Central Investigative Courts num 1 & 2 and PPO) at judicial level and UCRIF (Policía Nacional) at police level
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Eurojust helps tackle massive fraud of EUR 645 million with medicinal cannabis plants across Europe

Source: Eurojust

In Germany, France and Spain alone, over 4 500 victims have lodged formal complaints against the fraudsters, who set up a crowd-funding programme to raise a minimum of EUR 50 per investor for the development of medicinal cannabis plants. In reality, no cannabis plants were ever bought, although the organisers of the scheme pretended to work with legitimate and licensed enterprises that would cultivate them. The fraud ran from at least January 2020 to July 2022.

The entire scheme had the character of a pyramid or ‘Ponzi fraud’ and promised extremely high returns on investment. Investigations in Germany and Spain, later followed by counterparts in other countries across Europe, showed that investors had been only partially paid.

Most of the invested money was used to pay affiliates, keep the scheme running and expand the fraud through extensive online campaigns. For this purpose and to launder the proceeds, a web of international enterprises was used. The scheme itself appears to have been run by a Russian criminal network, with an affiliated German-based crime group.

Victims in Germany and Spain claim to have lost at least EUR 51.5 million, but the total investment is estimated to be close to EUR 645 million. In total, around 550 000 participants worldwide were registered as online investors, most of them European citizens. Around 186 000 participants transferred funds, either via cryptocurrencies or bank transfers.

Since 2022, Eurojust has been extensively supporting the national authorities, including assisting the German, Spanish and French authorities in setting up and funding the JIT. This led to a successful Joint Action Day coordinated at Eurojust.

At the request of the German and Spanish authorities, in recent days operational actions against the criminal networks were also carried out in Estonia, Latvia, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Dominican Republic. The French authorities made a decisive contribution to the analysis of crypto flows during the investigations and took part in searches in Germany and Spain on the action day.

Europol supported this massive cross-border investigation from the outset, taking the lead in operational coordination and providing tailored analytical support. Furthermore, Europol shared results of the financial investigations as well as other intelligence with the involved countries. On the action day, Europol deployed officers with mobile offices to various locations worldwide.

During the action days, over thirty places were also searched and for several millions of Euros in crypto assets and bank accounts were frozen. Also real estate properties, luxury vehicles, artwork, cash and various luxury items were seized, as well as large numbers of electronic devices and documents.

The operations were carried out on the ground at request of and by:

  • Germany: Public Prosecutor’s Office Berlin; Criminal Investigation Department Berlin (LKA)
  • Spain: Central Investigative Judge no. 6 at the Audiencia Nacional; National Police (Policia Nacional – UDEF Central Brigade against Economic Crime, Financial Fraud Group)
  • France: Paris’ Prosecutor’s Office JUNALCO (National Jurisdiction against Organised Crime); Gendarmerie Nationale (Research Section Rennes)
  • Estonia: Office of the Prosecutor General; Police and Border Guard Board
  • Latvia: Prosecutor General’s Office; International Cooperation Department and Economic Crime Enforcement Department of the Central Criminal Police Department of the State Police
  • Italy: Postal Police Service of the National Police – Operational Section for Cyber Security, Macerata, and Operational Centre for Cybersecurity of Marche
  • Malta: Malta Police Force – International Relations Unit
  • Poland: Public Prosecutor’s Offices of Jelenia Góra, Lublin, Warsaw, Warsaw Praga and Wrocław; Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime
  • Portugal: Central Public Prosecutor’s Office Lisbon (DCIAP); Judicial Police (Policia Judiciária)United Kingdom: National Crime Agency
  • United Kingdom: National Crime Agency
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Eurojust assists with taking down of drug trafficking ring involved in killing of rivals in Greece

Source: Eurojust

Eurojust has supported the Greek and Serbian authorities in dismantling a drug trafficking network allegedly involved in the murder of four members of a rival gang in Greece. In total, ten suspects were arrested in Serbia, Greece and Spain for the murders, which took place in 2020. Eurojust also supported and funded a joint investigation team (JIT) between Greece and Serbia to dismantle the organised crime group (OCG).

The OCG was based in the Western Balkans and was mainly involved in large-scale drug trafficking. It faced a split within its own organisation in 2014, with a rival group being set up in Greece. This split in the OCG led to a series of murder attempts and killings across Europe. Four members of the Greek-based criminal network were killed in 2020 on Corfu and in Vari on the mainland of Greece.

Investigations by both the Greek and Serbian authorities detected links to the original OCG. In 2023, Eurojust assisted the Greek and Serbian authorities in setting up and funding the JIT into the OCG in the Western Balkans. The Agency also assisted national authorities to prepare, at police level and under the supervision of prosecutors, the concerted actions in recent weeks to dismantle the criminal network.

Europol has been supporting the investigation since April 2021 and brought together the Greek and Serbian investigators to establish a joint strategy and prepare for the final day of action. Europol’s Serious Organised Crime Centre carried out extensive operational analysis to identify the entire organisation responsible for the homicides. Greek investigators were also deployed to Europol’s headquarters to develop the intelligence on their key targets.

In total, 39 suspects have been identified, including the ten detained persons. The authorities involved will now coordinate further judicial action against the OCG members based in the Western Balkans.

The actions on the ground were carried out by and at request of the following authorities:

  • Greece: Department of Extradition and Judicial Assistance of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) of the Court of Appeals Athens; PPO of First Instance Court Athens; Department of Crimes Against Life and Personal Liberty of Attica Security Directorate
  • Serbia: Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime; Ministry of Interior, Police Directorate, Service for Combatting Organised Crime; Security Intelligence Agency
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Eurojust coordinates arrests in Swedish cannabis trafficking case

Source: Eurojust

Eurojust has supported the Swedish and Spanish authorities in the coordinated arrest of four suspects involved in the wholesale and transport of cannabis and other illicit drugs. The main suspect was allegedly organising the reception of the drugs in Sweden and their distribution in and around Stockholm. He was arrested in Spain based on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) with a view to surrender him to Sweden.

Eurojust set up a coordination centre last week to assist the Swedish and Spanish authorities with the exchange of information and the execution of the EAW, as well as European Investigation Orders. A number of premises were also searched and various goods and telecommunications equipment seized during concerted actions in both countries.

Based on the interception and decoding by the Swedish authorities of large-scale encrypted communications, it was established that the suspects has transported, received and stored large quantities of cannabis in the second half of 2020. During this period, also a large quantity of the synthetic drug MDMA was handled. 

At the request of the Swedish authorities, Eurojust enabled contact with their counterparts in Spain, where the main suspect in this case was residing. The actions on the ground were carried out at the request of and by the following authorities:

  • Sweden: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Stockholm; Swedish Police; Nordic Police and Customs Liaison Officer, Malaga.
  • Spain: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Alicante, International Cooperation Unit; Guardia Civil; Policía Nacional.
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Support to halt money laundering in Italy via tax fraud and fake invoices

Source: Eurojust

Eurojust has supported judicial authorities in Italy, Portugal and Spain in halting an elaborate money-laundering scheme via tax fraud. In a coordinated operation, five suspects have been arrested in Italy and Spain for laundering illicit criminal proceeds by committing VAT fraud on the alleged import of frozen fish from Portugal and Spain. The main suspect is associated with the Cosa Nostra mafia-type criminal organisation.

© – Guardia di Finanza

In a recent operation, approximately EUR 3.3 million in cash, luxury vehicles and jewellery were seized. This includes the seizing of cash and blocking of bank accounts worth around EUR 600 000 by the Spanish authorities. In total, twelve individuals are currently under investigation by the Italian authorities, including the five suspects who were detained.

The suspects were allegedly involved in a criminal network that laundered money via a complex tax fraud scheme, using fake invoices and avoiding the payment of VAT to the Italian authorities. For this purpose, an enterprise for the importing of frozen fish products from Portugal and Spain was set up. They are now formally suspected of money laundering, tax fraud, criminal association and the fraudulent transfer of valuables.

Eurojust assisted with the execution of European Arrest Warrants and European Investigation Orders, as well as freezing orders, via the National Desks of Italy, Portugal and Spain. The operations on the ground were carried out at the request of and supported by the following authorities:

  • Italy: Public Prosecutor’s Office of Genoa; Guardia di Finanza (Central Service for Investigation on Organised Crime – SCICO)
  • Portugal: DCIAP (Departamento Central de Investigação e Acção Penal); TCIC (Tribunal Central de Instrução Criminal)
  • Spain: Investigative Judge no. 4 Vigo (Juzgado Instruccion no. 4): Audiencia Nacional Pulbic Prosecutor (Fiscalia Audiencia Nacional); UDEF Policia Nacional and Catalan Mossos d’Esquadra