Spanish police said on Wednesday that they had dismantled a Chinese-Arab criminal network accused of laundering $21 million in profits from drug and people trafficking, using the informal ‘hawala’ money transfer system.
The investigation was launched after police disrupted a human-smuggling ring that had been transporting predominantly Syrian migrants from Algeria to Spain, prompting a deeper examination into the group’s financial activities.
According to police, the Arab faction of the network was responsible for ‘the reception of money in any part of the world’, while a separate Chinese group provided the funds within Spain in return for cryptocurrency.
In January, law enforcement apprehended 17 suspects – primarily of Chinese and Syrian origin – with 15 arrests occurring in Spain, and one each in Austria and Belgium, in collaboration with Europol.
The head of the organisation, who was based in Belgium and held ‘Jordanian-Palestinian nationality’, helped establish key connections within Spain, police chief inspector Encarna Ortega said during a press briefing in Madrid.
He is believed to have overseen numerous activities, most notably the laundering of funds derived from both human and narcotics trafficking, Ortega said.
Spanish police reported that the group moved a total of $21 million between June 2022 and September 2024.
Authorities confiscated a range of assets including €205,000 in cash, over €183,000 in cryptocurrency, 18 vehicles, real estate, and illicit cigars valued at more than €600,000, which were intended for the Chinese market.
The ‘hawala’ system, rooted in trust and relying on a network of intermediaries with minimal documentation, is widely used across Asia and Africa for transferring funds across borders.
While it serves a legitimate role for many migrant workers sending money to relatives, the method has also drawn scrutiny for its association with terrorism financing
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💰 17 providers of criminal banking services arrested and criminal assets worth EUR 4.5 million seized in Europol-supported action day.
Read and see more in our press release ⤵️https://t.co/onGEAo1h5b pic.twitter.com/HZvGMyeDqY
— Europol (@Europol) May 14, 2025
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