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By Marc Menendez-Roche • Updated: 09 Oct 2024 • 17:34 • 2 minutes read
Police are investigating more than 550 people for allegedly being involved in a huge organised criminal network of tax fraud, document forgery, and money laundering. Credit: Pexels, Matthias Oben
Police are investigating more than 550 people for allegedly being involved in a huge organised criminal network of tax fraud, document forgery, and money laundering. The scandal, ripe with dodgy dealings in the tropical fruit trade, is now being peeled apart by the Velez-Malaga Court in a juicy case that’s only getting bigger by the day.
The police and Guardia Civil worked together on a joint operation, arresting 82 people, including the 69-year-old owner of a leading European fruit company, and a bank branch manager from Velez-Malaga. Shockingly, none of those arrested remain in custody, with only the fruit company owner required to post bail to secure his release.
The investigation started back in 2021, when authorities raided several locations in Alhaurin de la Torre, Benalmadena, Benamocarra, Malaga, Rincon de la Victoria, and Velez-Malaga, uncovering fraudulent activities linked to the trade of subtropical fruits. More than 55 suspects were arrested, and authorities seized €770,585 in cash, blocked bank accounts with balances totalling €360,403, and confiscated a range of properties and documents. Then, in 2022, police went after the ring leaders. They raided the company headquarters, arrested a further 27 people, and seized €991,855 in cash, as well as five luxury cars.
Investigators have blown the lid off a €13 million scam, busting a ring of shady dealers and crooked companies all cooking the books to swindle the taxman. Their sneaky little con? Fake deals, dodgy paperwork, and a whole lot of cash being funnelled into swanky cars and plush properties – all at the taxpayer’s expense. Fake purchases to claw back VAT on goods that never even existed, and they’ve pocketed millions doing it. But as the police dug deeper, they struck gold, seizing over €13 million in luxury motors, fancy real estate, and much more.
At the centre of this shady scheme is a major subtropical fruit company, supported by a network of accomplices and clever intermediaries. Investigators uncovered a scam where phoney invoices were used to sell fruit to unsuspecting buyers. The illicit cash was then funnelled through various financial routes, laundering millions in the process.
In the first wave of raids, cops nabbed €770,000 in cash, but they weren’t done yet. The second phase saw police swoop in on even more assets, freezing bank accounts and uncovering a mountain of dodgy documents. The crooks’ financial products and their shell companies were locked down as investigators peeled back more layers of the criminal empire.
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Marc is a writer, teacher, and language enthusiast with a passion for making complex topics simple and accessible. With a background in business and legal communication and an interest in educational neuroscience, Marc has spent over a decade teaching and writing. Now, as part of the team at Euro Weekly News, Marc enjoys diving into entertaining topics and stories that matter to the community. When he's not writing, Marc loves practising martial arts, playing football, cooking up a storm in the kitchen, or spending quality time with friends and family, but above all, Marc enjoys spending time with his son, Macson.
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