“A man, aged 35, was detained on Wednesday in Vilamoura following a warrant issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Faro, as part of an ongoing investigation into a group dedicated to laundering illicit gains through the Portuguese financial system,” stated the PJ in a communiqué.
According to the investigating criminal authority, the individual used various false identities to establish numerous Portuguese legal societies, through which he opened multiple bank accounts in various national credit institutions.
The suspect “introduced, circulated, and integrated a significant volume of funds exceeding 500,000 euros into his patrimonial sphere,” the statement noted.
Further, the PJ reported that the investigation, led by the Southern Directorate of the PJ, revealed the group’s connections to several European countries, including Belgium, Spain, Italy, and France.
This group, utilizing fake identification documents and passports, set up “shell” companies and opened hundreds of bank accounts worldwide, through which they laundered illicit amounts derived from cyber fraud crimes, according to the communiqué.
The detained individual was presented to judicial authorities for an initial judicial questioning and was remanded in custody. The investigation is now under the direction of the Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP) in Faro, according to the Judicial Police.
