Basque Country
The five organisations have been carrying fiscal fraud for five years and laundered the profits via a society framework which revolved around a Guipúzcoa society which has been under investigation for five years.
Jul 29, 2015 - 2:14 PM
Five criminal organisations acting in alternative nightclubs hid more than 400 million €.
The five organisations have been carrying fiscal fraud for five years and laundered the profits via a society framework which revolved around a Guipúzcoa society which has been under investigation for five years.
Jul 29, 2015 - 2:14 PM
The analysis of more than 750 bank accounts by the Tax Office was able to link the Basque society to the alternative clubs where the money was defrauded.
Agents from the National Police and technicians from the Tax Office have broken up five criminal organisations which exploited large alternative clubs in different parts of Spain. Using the technique of financial engineering the companies could have hidden more than 400 million € in the last five year, generating tax evasion of 117 million over the period.
The National Police and Tax Office have searched 14 clubs and 21 homes and have detained 66 members from the five uncovered organisations
A previous phrase of the case started in 2010 when technicians from Customs Vigilance from the Tax Office in the Basque Country started to investigate one of the subjects given his external signs of wealth allegedly generated by tax evasion and money laundering.
From the early signs they saw a link to a society in San Sebastián which the investigators finally established was facilitating the criminal framework by giving the nightclubs credit card reading machines for fraud and later laundering.
Later the police monitors saw on the internet some women of the men attending the alternative clubs sharing their experiences and discussing the large unexplained amounts on their credit cards.
In 2012, the investigations started to converge in parallel on the company in Guipúzcoa by the Unit for Economic and Fiscal Crime of the National Police. In addition, as the need for specialist had arisen in the following year 2013 the Central Brigade against Human Trafficking joined the investigation, and the convergence came as the Human Trafficking unit had started investigations months before on one of the criminal organisations. All these preliminary investigations were placed before the Instruction Court 4 in the National Court.
Five criminal organisations with a unique nexus of union were uncovered; then the analysis of the bank accounts resulting in linking the providers with the clubs. All the clients in the clubs had to pay with credit card with the paying terminal provided and an extra 10% commission was shared the clubs and the criminal organisations, and were deposited into the account of the Guipúzcoa society.
Most of the money was quickly moved by proxy, which made it difficult to trace the money. The accounts of the clubs and organisations were noted to be the buying and selling of goods or leases and declared a lower amount to the taxman or failed to make any declaration.
Finally the money was laundered using diverse mechanisms, such as paying the workers in cash, the purchase of property or investments in other countries and using gold the amount laundered was 6 million €.
Most of the exploited women were foreign and came from the lower levels of society in their homelands. Many would send money to their family but soon they would find themselves totally defenceless and dependent on the criminal organisation which was exploiting them.
In the alternative clubs a series of rules were imposed, such as how to dress and how to behave with the clients, and even explaining the sexual services where preservatives were not needed. Those who infringed the rules would be fined, sometimes by being order to work more hours.
In addition the five organisations moved the girls in rota between each region they controlled which brought regular new girls for the clients and the consequent greater fidelity of the client.
Each organisation had its own role. So, one would find the women to be exploited and obliging them to pay costs and occasional taxes, to elude any possible responsibility in any police inspection.
Another organisation was extremely violent, using fear to trap the women and obliging them to prostitute themselves with threats and beatings.
Another organisation allowed the women to keep a percentage of the client’s tips by doing so making the organisation anonymous to the woman.
All the organisations had one thing in common; they would be selective about the women they took on and would reject merely on race or ethnicity.
The operation was carried out by the Unit against Document Falsification and Illegal Immigration Networks of the General Commissariat of Foreigners and Frontiers, and the Central Unit for Financial and Economic Delinquency of the General Commissariat of the Judicial Police with the Regional Customs Vigilance in Vizcaya and the National Office for the Investigation of Fraud and agents from the Tax Office.
In addition Police agents from higher headquarters from Barcelona, Murcia, Alicante, Navarra, Málaga, Zaragoza and Pontevedra, the drug hunting dog unit and delegations from the Tax Offices in Cataluña, Murcia, Navarra and Valencia.
It was established there were 349 potential victims and during the operation more than 1.2 million € in cash, diverse artworks, gold, jewellery and luxury watches, some valued at 30,000 €, four firearms and ammunition.
In addition, on judicial order, the embargo of 419 properties, 160 vehicles many top of the range, seven boats and numerous bank accounts of fictions people in more than 30 financial bodies.
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Agents from the National Police and technicians from the Tax Office have broken up five criminal organisations which exploited large alternative clubs in different parts of Spain. Using the technique of financial engineering the companies could have hidden more than 400 million € in the last five year, generating tax evasion of 117 million over the period.
The National Police and Tax Office have searched 14 clubs and 21 homes and have detained 66 members from the five uncovered organisations
A previous phrase of the case started in 2010 when technicians from Customs Vigilance from the Tax Office in the Basque Country started to investigate one of the subjects given his external signs of wealth allegedly generated by tax evasion and money laundering.
From the early signs they saw a link to a society in San Sebastián which the investigators finally established was facilitating the criminal framework by giving the nightclubs credit card reading machines for fraud and later laundering.
Later the police monitors saw on the internet some women of the men attending the alternative clubs sharing their experiences and discussing the large unexplained amounts on their credit cards.
In 2012, the investigations started to converge in parallel on the company in Guipúzcoa by the Unit for Economic and Fiscal Crime of the National Police. In addition, as the need for specialist had arisen in the following year 2013 the Central Brigade against Human Trafficking joined the investigation, and the convergence came as the Human Trafficking unit had started investigations months before on one of the criminal organisations. All these preliminary investigations were placed before the Instruction Court 4 in the National Court.
Five criminal organisations with a unique nexus of union were uncovered; then the analysis of the bank accounts resulting in linking the providers with the clubs. All the clients in the clubs had to pay with credit card with the paying terminal provided and an extra 10% commission was shared the clubs and the criminal organisations, and were deposited into the account of the Guipúzcoa society.
Most of the money was quickly moved by proxy, which made it difficult to trace the money. The accounts of the clubs and organisations were noted to be the buying and selling of goods or leases and declared a lower amount to the taxman or failed to make any declaration.
Finally the money was laundered using diverse mechanisms, such as paying the workers in cash, the purchase of property or investments in other countries and using gold the amount laundered was 6 million €.
Most of the exploited women were foreign and came from the lower levels of society in their homelands. Many would send money to their family but soon they would find themselves totally defenceless and dependent on the criminal organisation which was exploiting them.
In the alternative clubs a series of rules were imposed, such as how to dress and how to behave with the clients, and even explaining the sexual services where preservatives were not needed. Those who infringed the rules would be fined, sometimes by being order to work more hours.
In addition the five organisations moved the girls in rota between each region they controlled which brought regular new girls for the clients and the consequent greater fidelity of the client.
Each organisation had its own role. So, one would find the women to be exploited and obliging them to pay costs and occasional taxes, to elude any possible responsibility in any police inspection.
Another organisation was extremely violent, using fear to trap the women and obliging them to prostitute themselves with threats and beatings.
Another organisation allowed the women to keep a percentage of the client’s tips by doing so making the organisation anonymous to the woman.
All the organisations had one thing in common; they would be selective about the women they took on and would reject merely on race or ethnicity.
The operation was carried out by the Unit against Document Falsification and Illegal Immigration Networks of the General Commissariat of Foreigners and Frontiers, and the Central Unit for Financial and Economic Delinquency of the General Commissariat of the Judicial Police with the Regional Customs Vigilance in Vizcaya and the National Office for the Investigation of Fraud and agents from the Tax Office.
In addition Police agents from higher headquarters from Barcelona, Murcia, Alicante, Navarra, Málaga, Zaragoza and Pontevedra, the drug hunting dog unit and delegations from the Tax Offices in Cataluña, Murcia, Navarra and Valencia.
It was established there were 349 potential victims and during the operation more than 1.2 million € in cash, diverse artworks, gold, jewellery and luxury watches, some valued at 30,000 €, four firearms and ammunition.
In addition, on judicial order, the embargo of 419 properties, 160 vehicles many top of the range, seven boats and numerous bank accounts of fictions people in more than 30 financial bodies.
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