The Guardia Civil has dismantled a criminal organisation specialised in online scams and money laundering that managed to defraud nearly 400,000 euro across various parts of Spain. The operation, named “Lorath”, resulted in the arrest of 15 people, consisting of eight men and seven women aged between 19 and 55.
The investigation began following a report filed by a sports club in Sant Joan d’Alacant, which fell victim to a scam of more than 53,000 euro through a technique known as vishing. The criminals posed as bank employees over the phone to create alarm among the victims, thereby obtaining security codes or authorisations to operate their accounts.
From that initial case, Guardia Civil officers managed to uncover an organised criminal structure divided into different cells. According to investigators, the network committed at least 26 offences of fraud affecting businesses, associations and individuals in different Spanish provinces.
Once they obtained the money, the perpetrators quickly transferred it to accounts controlled by the organisation. Many of these accounts were opened by individuals known as “money mules”, who were recruited to move funds and make it difficult to trace the money. Part of these amounts was subsequently converted into cryptocurrencies and sent to international financial platforms.
The operation was carried out in Alicante, the Balearic Islands, Barcelona, Castellon, Granada, Jaen, Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Tarragona and Valencia. In addition to the 15 detainees, the Guardia Civil identified another 15 people linked to the plot who cooperated in moving the funds. Thanks to coordination between investigators and the affected banking institutions, 20,000 euro from one of the investigated scams was successfully blocked and legally recovered.
The detainees are accused of continuous fraud, money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation.
