A GANG has been busted in Spain for making over €30 million from fixing up fake relationships for illegal migrants so that they could get residency.
People were smuggled into the country from mainly Morocco with up to €12,000 charged as a fee for the whole process.
The Policia Nacional said that 19 people have been arrested in Jaen, Malaga, Tenerife and Melilla during the first six months of 2026 as part of ‘Operation Link II’.
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The first phase of the operation had resulted in 46 people being detained for document forgery and illegal immigration charges.
Inquiries started in February 2025, when the police spotted anomalies in several residency applications categorised as being under ‘ exceptional circumstances’.
They all involved unmarried couples in Catalunya, with many suspicious registrations centering in the south of Spain on the Jaen province town of Torredonjimeno.
Investigations revealed the gang managed to regularise foreigners by registering them as ‘common-law couples’ in various notary offices in the Barcelona area.
The bogus relationships were with Spanish citizens with whom they had no relationship or previous contact.
Moroccan migrants then obtained a residency permit which allowed them to live and work in Spain for five years.
The gang charged migrants a fee of up to €12,000 for getting into the country and providing them with fake papers.
The organisation had bases in Barcelona, Melilla, Tenerife and Malaga, with a well-defined hierarchy led by Spanish and Moroccan nationals.
They planned their operations, coordinated the group and received most of the income, which the Policia Nacional totalled over €30 million.
The lower echelon of gang members identified Spanish women- mainly from the Malaga area- to become a bogus partner and they were moved to Barcelona for the deception and registrations to take place.
Facilitators obtaining the fake papers for processing residency applications, and mules were in charge of transferring and laundering the money made by the gang.
The Policia Nacional have made a formal request for Foreigners’ Offices around Spain to nullify the illegally-obtained residency permits.
The Tax Agency has also been asked to remove any social aid granted to people as a result of the fraud.
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