Officers from the Guardia Civil have seized 700,000 euro from a taxi passenger in Tarragona, as the carrier was unable to prove the origin of the money.
The officers stopped the vehicle during a routine road block in the Sant Salvador area of the city and found the suitcase in the boot with a variety of note denominations.
The passenger in the taxi, a Lebanese citizen with a German passport, did not have any authorisation to transfer this money, as detailed in the laws governing the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.
The man confirmed that the suitcase was his and said he did not know the exact amount of money he had and that was to buy vehicles, but could not prove its origin.
The officers arrested the man for violation of the financial rules relating to the movement of money and deposited the cash in a bank pending a court ruling.