A fugitive who had three international arrest warrants for the crimes of money laundering, membership in a criminal organization and fraud issued by the U.S., Panamanian and Spanish authorities was arrested at the French Charles de Gaulle International Airport.
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The fugitive was considered the leader of an international organization dedicated to committing fraud through vishing, which since at least 2021 has been dedicated to using false cards and identities to defraud citizens and companies of American nationality, illicitly obtaining a high financial benefit, evading the payment of taxes and money laundering.
The investigation began at the beginning of March 2023, when the Interpol Office sent the National Police agents the request for collaboration in locating the international fugitive, who was wanted by Panama and the United States.
It is a type of social engineering scam by telephone in which, through a call, the identity of a company, organization or trusted person is impersonated, in order to obtain personal and sensitive information from the victim, in this case always from American companies and citizens.
The now detained man received and moved the money from the scams through a network of bank accounts opened by mules, with the collaboration of other members of the organization. He would have received nearly €5,000,000 in one year.
Once the money entered Spanish accounts, it was converted into crypto assets, withdrawn at ATMs, invested in purchases or sent to third-party accounts such as Great Britain, Panama or Lithuania, to companies created in these countries by several members.
Both the fugitive and members of his organization were known to the Spanish authorities, having been previously detained, for the events described.
Given the possibility of the fugitive's presence in Spain, efforts were made to find out his location, but they were unsuccessful, with the added difficulty of not having a fixed place of residence, as he changed rental homes and apartments. vehicles regularly, using the names of third parties so as not to appear in any registry or database.
Due to these circumstances, a joint investigation team was formed between the Fugitive Location Section and the US Secret Service, to unify information and coordinate investigation tasks.
The investigations showed that the accused maintained contact with members of the organization in our country and with members of his family, and after monitoring his surroundings, it was found out that the fugitive was not in Spain but in France.
After detecting that there could be a meeting between the fugitive and a family member during the Christmas season, the ENFAST Network was activated, which allowed FAST France police officers to locate and detain the fugitive at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport while he was reunited with his mother. ■