This case unfolds in the Alicante region, where a 55-year-old tax adviser stands accused of money laundering connected to a Norwegian shipping company’s fraud. Authorities report nearly one million euros moved through a network that stretched across Spain, Panama, and Norway, tied to a fraudulent bankruptcy scheme that caused substantial losses to Norwegian public finances. Investigators say the suspect’s real estate purchases in Alfas del Pi, valued at around 985,000 euros, were funded through a web of business relationships that spanned multiple countries and included a number of Spain-based, Panama-based, and Norwegian traders. Police describe this as a coordinated effort to launder funds gleaned from international maritime fraud. (Police sources)
The investigation was conducted by the Alicante Provincial Judicial Police Brigade Money Laundering and Anti-Corruption Group. It began in 2019 and culminated in recent weeks after investigators built a detailed evidentiary file against a Spanish tax adviser who allegedly helped launder part of the proceeds from the Norwegian shipowner’s scheme. The fraud is pegged at more than 11.5 million euros defrauded from the Norwegian public finances. (Police sources)
Authorities say the National Police received financial intelligence about a Norwegian-origin couple who may reside in the Alicante province and could be linked to the Norwegian shipping company’s collapse. In response, investigators monitored the couple’s assets to map connections and identify collaborators involved in this illicit money movement. (Police sources)
From 2003 through 2019, the Money Laundering Group collected and analyzed banking data tied to the Norwegian shipowner and the accompanying partner. They allegedly used a broad network to acquire real estate in Marina Baixa through Spanish traders, with connections to operations in Spain, Norway, and Panama. (Police sources)
The accused engaged a local adviser to facilitate this scheme, with authorities suspecting that the same individuals were responsible for a money-laundering offense in Spain because the investments were linked to fraud under investigation in Norway. (Police sources)
Investigators found multiple bank accounts opened in the suspects’ names at Spanish financial institutions, with significant inbound transfers from abroad, including funds routed through offshore locations. Although these sums appeared as incoming cash, much of it was subsequently withdrawn via checks or cash withdrawals, or moved back to third-party accounts abroad by the suspects themselves, a tactic aimed at masking the activity as legitimate. A portion of the funds did go toward settling various residence-related receipts. (Police sources)
Suspicious funds were redirected to Spain through companies controlled by those under investigation, with registered offices in places such as Panama and other tax havens like the Channel Islands. The group led by the adviser was said to be centralized in Benidorm, where several arrests were made. (Police sources)
Police explain that the primary aim behind purchasing properties in the area of l’Alfàs del Pi was to later sell them for substantial capital gains. This pattern is another example of a money-laundering method often used to repatriate economic gains from frauds committed abroad into legitimate economies. (Police sources)
One of the Marina Baixa properties purchased by the network was later identified as the habitual residence of the individuals under investigation and served as the registered address for one of the traders involved in the scheme. (Police sources)
Following the comprehensive data collection on the money-laundering operations, the National Police arrested the tax adviser in Benidorm. After providing a statement at the police station, the individual was released on bail pending court proceedings. (Police sources)
The operation closed after the seizure of seven banking products and four properties in Spain, all located in Marina Baixa, with their balances yet to be determined. According to the Alicante Provincial Police Station, the total amount allegedly laundered by the arrested person between 2003 and 2019 was reported as 985,341 euros. (Police sources)