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Spain detains 36 people for falsifying diplomas to get Spanish citizenship

Police in Spain detained 36 people who are alleged to have fraudulently obtained diplomas and certificates from the Cervantes Institute, the body that organises the tests applicants need to pass in order to get Spanish citizenship.

Published: 10 December 2021 17:58 CET
Spain detains 36 people for falsifying diplomas to get Spanish citizenship
Photo by Gabriel Bouys/AFP

They also identified 1,667 clients who paid the organisation between €1,000 and €4,500 to obtain false diplomas and certificates.

According to a report published by the police force on Friday, the criminal organisation, which was based in Barcelona, falsified the Cervantes Institute’s oral and written tests in order to obtain language and citizenship certificates.

These were then sold to foreign residents who needed the diplomas in order to apply for citizenship. 

Foreign residents must pass a language test (DELE) and a cultural knowledge multiple-choice exam (CCSE), in order to obtain Spanish nationality. 

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about getting Spanish citizenship

The arrests were carried out in an operation coordinated by Europol that took place simultaneously in Spain and the United Kingdom with the collaboration of the Spanish National Police and the British National Crime Agency (NCA).

One important figure in the network was arrested in the United Kingdom, while the rest – including the leader of the organisation – were detained in the province of Barcelona.

The police found €50,000 in cash and several laptops containing hundreds of false diplomas.

The forgeries were made in an academy that offered tests to obtain the DELE and CCSE. The results of these were falsified for foreign citizens who lacked the necessary knowledge to pass.

Most of the clients were from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Of the 1,667 clients that were identified, about 1,380 would allegedly have obtained the DELE fraudulently.

The national police has been collaborating with the Cervantes Institute since 2018 on various different fraud cases relating to the DELE and CCSE certificates, which are issued officially by the institute under the mandate of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice.

In November 2020, the national police carried out an extensive operation in different provinces and arrested 25 people for impersonating legal foreign residents during their exams to obtain the DELE language certificate.

READ ALSO: Spanish citizenship test handbook riddled with ‘unfortunate’ errors

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CRIME

Son of Spanish actor goes on trial over grisly Thai island murder

The murder trial of a famous Spanish actor's son opened Tuesday on a popular Thai tourist island, where he is accused of killing and dismembering a Colombian plastic surgeon.

Published: 9 April 2024 11:26 CEST
Son of Spanish actor goes on trial over grisly Thai island murder

Chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, pleaded not guilty at a hearing in November to the premeditated murder of 44-year-old Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the nearby Koh Pha Ngan island.

The pair were reported by Spanish media to have connected on Instagram in 2022, with Sancho travelling to Thailand on July 31st as a tourist, where they met.

The trial opened Tuesday on the honeymoon isle of Koh Samui, with Sancho’s father, well-known Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, arriving at the court shortly after 8:30 am (0130 GMT).

Lawyer Juan Gonzalo Ospina Serrano, representing Arrieta’s family, told reporters during a break that Sancho had not shown any remorse inside the courtroom.

“Daniel does not recognise he has committed any kind of murder, not voluntary or otherwise,” he said, before adding: “It is a chilling image to see him cuffed by hands and feet.”

Ospina said earlier that the family hoped “Thai law will be forceful, that the truth can be told”.

Detained

Sancho has been in pre-trial detention in Thailand since August, after police said he had admitted to the murder.

Under Thai law, premeditated murder convictions carry the death penalty.

However, Arrieta’s family previously said they would not seek the death penalty.

Sancho has admitted to hiding Arrieta’s body – which carries up to a year in jail – but he denies the second charge of destroying the Colombian’s passport.

Sancho’s lawyer Apichart Srinual declined to answer reporters’ questions.

The Thai public prosecutor who filed the case against Sancho also declined to speak to the media at the court.

The trial is expected to last until mid-May, with scores of witnesses due to appear in court.

In August, police found body parts that are believed to belong to Arrieta at a rubbish dump in Koh Pha Ngan.

CCTV footage obtained by local media showed Sancho and the victim on a motorcycle together shortly before the remains were discovered.

Police said at the time Sancho’s motive for the killing was unclear.

Koh Pha Ngan is famed for its white sandy beaches and draws thousands of backpackers to its notoriously wild “full moon” parties.

In 2017, another Spaniard, Artur Segarra, was convicted of murdering a businessman in Bangkok and discarding dismembered body parts into the Chao Phraya River.

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