Spanish police have arrested another 53 people with links to a major sports betting fraud ring. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Another step in the right direction
Law enforcement officers have arrested another 53 people allegedly involved in a major sports betting fraud network in Spain. Spanish police and the country’s tax agency worked with Interpol and Europol to arrest the suspects.
The initial phase saw officers detain 22 people last year. These individuals were allegedly the leaders of the scheme and made profits of around €2 million ($2.2 million).
They allegedly work as mules for the illegal operation
Another 53 people were recently detained in Guadalajara and Madrid as part of the second wave of arrests. They were allegedly acting as mules for the illegal operation, allowing ringleaders to use their personal information for online betting accounts in exchange for money.
Scam sportsbooks
The illegal operation fixed sporting events and intercepted broadcasts heading to sportsbooks that believed they were getting live coverage of a particular event. The group used advanced technology to delay the broadcast so that ringleaders could place bets before the sports betting operator was aware of the latest action. After taking advantage of the delayed inflows, the gang laundered the money.
The criminal group allegedly fixed events in 20 different countries and a range of sports.
The authorities began investigating this criminal enterprise in 2020 after noticing some suspicious bets on table tennis online. This led to the discovery of the scheme in Spain, which was largely run by people from Bulgaria and Romania.
Major operation
The criminals used the personal information of hundreds of people to place bets, as they had around 1,500 accounts under their control. Their use of different payment gateways and cryptocurrencies made it difficult for investigators to follow betting activity and trace the funds.
More than 200 prepaid SIM cards found
During raids on four residences last year, police seized computers, two large satellite dishes, 80 phone terminals, 13,000 euros ($14,120) in counterfeit money, 5,500 euros ($5,974) in cash, and signal receivers. They also found more than 200 prepaid SIM cards.
Authorities blocked about 400,000 euros ($434,460) worth of cryptocurrencies, 28 payment gateway accounts, and 47 bank accounts.
