Overview
- Investigators say the group charged migrants up to €15,000 per file to obtain residence permits.
- Authorities attribute crimes including membership of a criminal organization, facilitation of irregular immigration, document forgery, usurpation of civil status and money laundering.
- Suspects allegedly falsified records and used the identities of resident women to stage sham partnerships and municipal registrations.
- Migrants were housed in unsanitary and extremely cramped spaces, with images showing beds placed inside cupboards.
- Operation Retorncat is being directed by Barcelona’s Investigating Court No. 12, with about ten additional people under investigation and activity documented across Spain, Germany, France and Belgium.