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Spain busts Europe’s most prolific counterfeit money ring

Spanish police said Thursday they had smashed Europe’s largest counterfeit money ring, which made over €8 million in fake cash and specialised in producing bogus €500 banknotes.

Published: 7 October 2022 09:53 CEST

Spain busts Europe's most prolific counterfeit money ring

Some of the bills did not have “the holographic patch” that makes it possible to verify their authenticity. Photo: MIGUEL MEDINA /AFP

The gang, based in Spain’s eastern coast, made “high quality” counterfeit €500 bills, they said, adding that 12 people had been arrested.

“This money was allegedly destined to commit different criminal activities, such as the purchase of drugs,” a statement said.

The operation, carried out jointly with Catalan police and Europol, had “dismantled the most important and active laboratory in Europe dedicated to the production of fake €500 bills,” it added.

Among those arrested was the man who allegedly printed the fake bills as well as the main distributors of the counterfeit cash.

Police launched an investigation in 2021 after fake €500 banknotes were found in circulation which were similar to those made by a ring that was dismantled a decade ago in the eastern region of Valencia.

The probe gathered pace after a neighbour of one of the suspected members of the ring found a bag with €4.3 million in fake bills in front of his home near Barcelona, said the head of the counterfeit money unit of Catalonia’s police force, Sergi Sánchez.

Some of the bills did not have “the holographic patch” that makes it possible to verify their authenticity, he told a Madrid news conference where counterfeit bills and seized machinery were displayed.

The purchase of a bicycle with fake €500 notes allowed Catan police to find the suspects.

Jorge Ruiz, a lawyer at the Bank of Spain, said the counterfeit banknotes were of “very high quality” and virtually undetectable to the naked eye.

Three of the arrested met in prison in Valencia, where they planned and perfected their trade.

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Dutch gang leader vanishes in Spain after accidental release

Karim Bouyakhrichan was arrested in January in Marbella, an upmarket tourist resort on Spain’s southern coast, along with five other members of the Mocro Maffia gang.

They are suspected of having bought 172 properties in Spain worth over €50 million ($53.5 million) to launder their gains from drug trafficking.

But the following month a court in the southern city of Málaga decided to grant him provisional release with judicial supervision, against the wishes of public prosecutors and the Spanish government. Judicial sources said Tuesday his whereabouts are now unknown.

“It is worrying news,” Justice Félix Bolaños told a news conference following a weekly cabinet meeting when asked about the case.

“I can’t comment on any court decisions, but I do trust that the state security forces will bring this person to justice as soon as possible,” he added.

The Málaga court said in its ruling granting Bouyakhrichan provisional release that the risk that he would flee could be avoided “with other less burdensome security measures” than pre-trial detention.

It imposed bail of €50,000, took away his passport and ordered him to report to the authorities twice a month.

Dutch extradition bid

At the same time Spain’s top criminal court was processing a request for Bouyakhrichan’s extradition to the Netherlands, where he is wanted for large-scale drug trafficking.

But it postponed its extradition proceedings because the Málaga court intended to put Bouyakhrichan on trial first for money laundering, court sources told AFP.

When the Netherlands provided more information to back its extradition request, the top court summoned him to testify and when he failed to appear a fresh warrant for his arrest was issued.

Vincent Veenman, a spokesman at the Dutch public prosecutor’s office in The Hague, said it was “unknown” to them why Bouyakhrichan had not been detained for extradition.

“We are currently awaiting a decision on the extradition request,” he added.

“Our experience with the Spanish justice system is that this cooperation is generally good. Dozens of suspects are handed over every year.”

Bouyakhrichan’s brother Samir, another leading member of the Mocro Maffia, was murdered in 2014 near Marbella, sparking a reorganisation of organised crime groups in the region.

The Mocro Maffia made international headlines in 2022 after it emerged that Dutch Crown Princess Amalia had been placed under heavy protection in response to fears of an attack by the group.

Dutch media reported earlier last week that the 20-year-old heir to the Dutch throne studied in Madrid after being forced to ditch plans to live in student accommodation in Amsterdam because of the threats.

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