More than 30 people were arrested in Murcia, Alicante and Tenerife
A total of 31 people were investigated in Murcia, Alicante, Barcelona and Oviedo while two of the gang leaders were arrested in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The criminals began the scam by creating a start-up company that was supposed to compete with some of the biggest online marketplaces, offering direct purchases, cryptocurrency wallets and home deliveries, among other services. Of course, the scammers never had any intention of actually opening the business, but developed a detailed brand to convince their victims to invest.
At the top of the pyramid were the leaders of the plot, who operated not only in Spain but also in Italy, the UK, Columbia and the Dominican Republic. The fraudsters were incredibly convincing, creating impressive promotional videos and staging events in prestigious hotels all over Europe.
The pyramid or Ponzi scheme worked by paying existing investors with funds generated by new investors, and the structure forced the victims to recruit new members in order to make their money back.
In addition to the investments, the scammed also had to buy licences from the company and sell those on too. A digital platform allowed those involved to see what level of the…
