A criminal network operating in Barcelona and Girona has been dismantled by national police authorities after orchestrating fraudulent civil partnerships. In total, 48 individuals were arrested, including the alleged head of the organization, ten other members, and 37 additional suspects charged with document fraud. It is believed that the gang registered about 77 sham couples between Spanish citizens and irregular migrants using forged documents.
The ring charged migrants up to 12,000 euros to handle their registration in official records to regularize their residency, while it paid 8,000 euros to Spanish nationals who agreed to enter into fake partnerships. Beyond those arrested, 37 people are under investigation for falsified documentation. (Source: Policía Nacional)
Investigations began in May 2023, revealing two tightly organized groups based in municipalities within the Barcelona and Girona regions. The operation involved both Spanish and Moroccan nationals suspected of facilitating illegal immigration through the creation of fraudulent domestic partnerships between Spanish citizens and Moroccan or Algerian migrants who were in irregular status.
To execute their scheme, the criminals used forged documents to enroll individuals in the Catalan civil-partnership registry. The process allowed migrants to obtain residence permits as family members of a community national. Law enforcement noted a bifurcated model for recruitment, with one faction seeking Spanish citizens willing to fraudulently register as partners with irregular migrants for a fee of 8,000 euros, while another group targeted Moroccan or Algerian nationals residing in Spain, France, or Belgium who sought regularization in Spain for a payment of 12,000 euros.
The network operated a fleet of vehicles and drivers who traveled across France and Belgium to bring in the migrants and smuggle them into Spain, charging sums between 1,000 and 1,500 euros for each illegal entry. Once in Spain, the migrants were housed in safe apartments in Figueras, where they paid up to 50 euros a day to live in overcrowded conditions while the fraudulent steps to register them as partners were completed.
The criminal organization guided the migrants on what actions to take and what statements to make, even accompanying them to various authorities to present the forged documents. After the necessary procedures were completed, the migrants were transported back to their residences in France or Belgium.
Investigators have established that the network allegedly secured 77 fraudulent partnerships registered in the Catalan registry of stable couples, with a total of 63 cases identified as having false documentation. (Source: Policía Nacional)