Civil Guard Busts Canary Islands Bank Impersonation Ring
The Civil Guard has arrested 30 individuals, including leaders and "financial mules," for their role in a Canary Islands-based criminal group that defrauded bank customers online and laundered the proceeds.
The Civil Guard has broken up a criminal group based in the Canary Islands. This group committed online fraud by pretending to be banks and then laundered the money they stole.
The criminals would call their victims, pretending to be bank managers. They would then convince people that a fraudulent transaction had happened in their bank account. Their real aim was to get victims' online banking login details. Once they had these, the criminals would carry out various financial transactions, moving large sums of money into accounts controlled by their organization. To make it harder for police to trace the money and their actions, they would then close these accounts and get rid of the prepaid mobile SIM cards they had used.
The investigation began after the first complaint was made. Civil Guard officers specializing in cybercrime then thoroughly analyzed similar criminal acts. They managed to connect more than 25 victims across Spain, all affected by the same scam.
Finally, based on the evidence collected during the investigation, 30 individuals were identified, located, arrested, and questioned. Five of these were the leaders of the criminal organization, living in Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Five homes were also searched. During these searches, officers seized numerous electronic devices and documents related to the illegal activities, as well as six kilograms of hashish.
A crucial part of the operation was identifying the "financial mules." These are individuals who either provided their existing bank accounts or opened new ones in their name to receive, transfer, or withdraw money from the scams. These 25 individuals, all living in Tenerife, are among those being investigated. They are accused of money laundering for their role in the criminal organization's financial structure.
The Cybercrime Team of the Judicial Police in Santa Cruz de Tenerife led this operation. During its final phase, they received support from other units within the Las Palmas and Tenerife Commands. The operation was overseen by Courtroom number 2 of the Court of First Instance of Güímar and the Technological Crimes Section of the Provincial Prosecutor's Office in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The Civil Guard reminds the public that providing bank accounts, moving money for others, or receiving funds from illegal activities is a money laundering offense under the Penal Code.