Dutch 24-year-old who swindled crime bosses with cryptocurrencies is arrested in Marbella

He moved every week. He chose luxury holiday homes in Marbella with a swimming pool, sauna or gym, and lived practically with just the clothes on his back. From those locations he ran a scam based on virtual assets that allowed him to amass a fortune of €20 million. Spain’s National Police have arrested a 24-year-old suspect born in the Netherlands on charges of fraud, money laundering and ties to organized crime. His mother and partner have also been arrested in the Netherlands, where the suspect has already been extradited and sent to prison. His victims are people living all over Europe, including leaders of criminal organizations based on the Costa del Sol who were looking to launder their illicit gains obtained from drug trafficking. “He is a wolf that attacks other wolves. If they had caught him, he wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale,” said a source familiar with the investigation.

The National Police’s Cybercrime Unit had been after him for six months. They had received information from the Dutch Nationale Politie, which was investigating the suspect for committing large-scale cryptocurrency scams and had detected his transfer to the Costa del Sol. According to them, his objective was both to hide and launder the money he had obtained fraudulently, “in addition to having the opportunity to enjoy the money obtained in a safe environment with a nice climate,” said the same sources.

The first thing they detected was that the individual rented luxury villas for one or two weeks and, after that time, he looked for another place. He moved continuously to try to make things more difficult for law enforcement. Meanwhile, he had a safe house: a simple, low-profile property that was in his name. There he kept cash, as well as clean clothes for himself and his accomplices “in case the situation got complicated,” the same sources added. Meanwhile, he continued with his illegal activity, which he offered through social networks and messaging services, and which he carried out in a coordinated manner with his family.

The victims contacted him with the aim of converting their virtual assets into currency. The procedure was always the same: they made a transfer in cryptocurrencies and he converted it into euros or dollars. He gained their trust little by little. The first transaction was always a small amount, which grew in the following ones. When the transfer reached a significant value, he disappeared. He kept the virtual assets and, in this way, increased his own wealth. His victims had only had contact with him online, so they did not know how to find him. The people he defrauded includes leaders of criminal organizations based on the Costa Sol who were looking to launder the money obtained through drug trafficking. “The criminals were also looking for him,” says another police officer.

“Over time we figured out how he worked and his movements, so when the operation [called Geld] called for it, we finally went for him,” said the sources. On September 17 he was arrested in a luxury villa he had rented in Marbella. It was a property in Nueva Andalucía with 300 square meters, two swimming pools, a gym and even a panic room. There were several high-end watches, luxury items and €16,000 in cash on the property. The agents also found information that allowed them to access his cryptocurrencies, which at the time were worth €13 million and have now increased to €20 million. “We do not rule out that he may have more assets,” said the same sources, noting that this is the largest seizure of virtual assets in Spain and one of the largest in Europe.

The police also searched his home in Mijas, while the Dutch police searched the home of his mother and his partner in the Netherlands. There they found a safe with €238,000 in cash and watches valued at €600,000, as well as documents and mobile phones, jewellery and clothes valued at half a million euros.

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