The National Police have detained a 71-year-old fugitive from the Netherlands in Elche (Alicante province) subject to a European Arrest Warrant for two ... offences of money-laundering and fraud committed between 2007 and 2014.
The fugitive had fled the Netherlands after being sentenced to two years' imprisonment, of which he still has 706 days left to serve.
The defendant was charged with an initial offence of moving around 890,000 euros in conjunction with third parties. The fugitive and his accomplices acquired, transferred and misappropriated these sums by depositing them into bank accounts under his control and into accounts held by companies linked to him, knowing that they had originated from activities related to money-laundering.
In the second of the offences for which he was convicted, he is alleged to have taken part in a joint fraud scheme in which they targeted 23 victims, defrauding them of 1.3 million euros through fictitious financial investments.
To do this, they gained the trust of the victims by posing as financial advisers and offering them investment products with returns which, they claimed, could be as high as 15 per cent, with the capital to be repaid after ten years. They persuaded the victims to make substantial financial outlays, all backed up by false documentation regarding the investment's purpose and security.
Consequently, the Dutch authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant, which was brought to the attention of the National Police in Alicante, following suspicions that the fugitive might be in the province of Alicante.
The Spanish police discovered that he was living in Elche and set up an operation, enabling them to locate and arrest him.