Alex Trelinski
A group of swindlers offering big returns on stock market investments have been arrested by the Policia Nacional.
The gang made €6 million out of their bogus brokerage which was advertised via the internet.
21 people were detained during home searches carried out in different areas of Madrid, as well as in Barcelona, Guadalajara, and Toledo provinces.
€562,000 in cash was discovered hidden in safes or behind walls.
11 high-value cars bought from the profits of the enterprise were seized along with a large number of mobile phones used to contact the swindled clients.
The Policia Nacional said they got over 130 complaints about the gang.
Investigations started 18 months ago when a victim reported that he had been scammed out of nearly €700,000.
Investors were reeled in via a brokerage website offering the chance to get quick returns on the stock market.
The fraudsters even offered real-time information to clients suggesting that the value of their investments had plunged dramatically to cover up what they were really up to.
Most of the cash was converted to cryptocurrency and then distributed among the gang members.
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