Overview
- Police arrested 12 suspects in Alicante and Valencia in Operación Girasoles, carried out with Ukrainian authorities, Europol and Interpol, alongside coordinated searches in Ukraine.
- Six detainees are in provisional prison, including the alleged leader known as “El Maestro,” who was tracked after moves to buy property in Thailand and pursue Emirati nationality.
- Investigators say the network hijacked more than 5,000 identities from 17 nationalities and used bots that mimicked human play to place thousands of low‑stake bets designed to avoid detection.
- At least 55 vulnerable Ukrainian women were recruited, brought to Spain to secure temporary protection and open bank accounts, then had their credentials and accounts taken over for fund flows.
- Raids seized about €200,000 in cryptocurrency and €73,000 in cash, along with luxury cars, phones, computers and 22 bots, while blocking 10 properties worth over €2 million and clarifying roughly 240 identity‑theft complaints as the cross‑border probe continues.