Spain Cancels Arrest Warrants for Crypto Laundering Suspects
Spain's National Court has cancelled international arrest warrants for brothers Nicolás and José Enrique Nogueira R., who are under investigation for alleged cryptocurrency money laundering linked to the FX Winning platform, requiring them to appear in Spain to give evidence.
The National Court has cancelled the international arrest warrants for Nicolás and José Enrique Nogueira R. They are being investigated for allegedly laundering money through cryptocurrency investments linked to the FX Winning platform. This decision is final, meaning the Nogueira R. brothers must now come to Spain on their own to give evidence. They will be given at least 30 days' notice for their new court appearance.
The court explained its decision was based on "proportionality" – a key idea when deciding on actions that limit someone's freedom. Even though the accusations are serious, the court felt that since the brothers are already taking part in the case, have provided information, and have offered to travel to Spain at their own expense to appear in court, keeping the arrest warrants would be too extreme at this stage of the investigation.
The National Court made this decision after the Nogueira R. brothers' lawyers appealed. The original arrest warrants were issued by Central Investigating Court number six, which is handling the case, on September 16, 2025. That court then rejected a request to reconsider the warrants on November 6 of the same year.
The brothers' lawyer, Juan Rius Millán, had argued that their right to a fair defense was violated because they weren't given important documents, such as statements from the Association of Cryptocurrency Investment Victims (which represents about 5,380 people), a report from the Public Prosecutor's Office, and police statements. However, the National Court rejected this argument. It ruled that there was no denial of defense, as legal rules do not require these documents to be shared before a request to reconsider a decision is made.
The court also turned down the defense's request for the Nogueira R. brothers to testify by video call from the United Arab Emirates, where they live. The court pointed out that they had previously been ordered to appear in person and that video conferencing is an option, not a requirement. It also explained that other people in the investigation who testified remotely live in Spain and could do so from local court offices, which is different from the Nogueira R. brothers' situation.
The defense tried to challenge the evidence linking the brothers to the alleged scheme. They denied there was a contract between FX Winning and Deumcorp OÜ, and also denied that one of the brothers received 200,000 euros connected to DJD Union SL. This money, according to the Civil Guard's Central Operative Unit (UCO), is linked to buying a petrol station in Gran Canaria. However, the National Court stated that it's too early in the process to fully examine this evidence, as the investigation is still ongoing. The court confirmed that the existing evidence, based on police reports and documents, appears "solid enough" to continue treating them as investigated individuals.
This investigation is looking into one of the biggest international cryptocurrency scams, which was based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. FX Winning, an online trading platform that promised big profits, was set up in April 2020 by David Merino Quintana, a businessman from the Canary Islands who is also now in the United Arab Emirates. Merino Quintana was previously connected to Arbistar 2.0, another crypto platform whose founder, Santiago Fuentes, was found guilty in September 2025 of scamming 32,000 people. FX Winning is accused of defrauding over 15,000 investors in about 30 countries out of millions of euros, with an estimated total loss of 460 million euros. The way FX Winning operated has been called a pyramid scheme, relying on new clients to pay off earlier ones.
Following the National Court's decision, the legal process continues with its investigation phase. Authorities are still looking into financial transactions between several companies – including Deumcorp OÜ, DJD Union, Canarias Risk Guiding, Publisea Media, and Meconsa – and their potential links to money laundering activities under the FX Winning name. Once the Nogueira R. brothers have given their testimony, the investigating court will decide what actions to take concerning their personal situation. The costs for this appeal were covered by the court itself, as there was no evidence that the appeal was filed carelessly or in bad faith.