At least two Finns face charges in conjunction with Spanish money laundering investigation

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The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs has confirmed that at least two Finnish citizens are among those facing charges in a massive money laundering case in Spain.
      The Spanish police launched a massive operation during the weekend to bring down an international money-laundering ring in Marbella in the sunny holiday region of the Costa del Sol.
      At least one of the two Finnish suspects, a 60-year-old woman, was arrested.
      The ministry refused to comment further on the matter.
      While the police continued interrogating those arrested on Sunday, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior confirmed that Europe's largest ever money-laundering investigation extends from Spain to several other European countries, the United States, Canada, and to the Russian oil company Yukos.
      So far, over 40 people have been arrested in the operation that began on Thursday.
     
In addition to the Finn, nationals of Spain, Morocco, France, Russia, and Ukraine have been detained. Both Europol and Interpol have taken part in the investigation.
      The arrested criminal network is suspected of having laundered over EUR 250 million originating from criminal activities such as drug trafficking, illegal arms deals, prostitution, kidnappings, contract killings, illegal immigration, stock exchange crimes, and tax evasion in various European countries.
      On Sunday, estimates as high as EUR 600 million were being offered in the Spanish media.
      Some of the money is suspected of originating from the Russian oil company Yukos. From Russia, the funds are said to have been transferred to a Dutch company, which then invested them in Spain.
     
Yukos categorically denies any involvement in money laundering. The firm's former principal owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been detained since October 2003 on suspicion of fraud and tax evasion.
      Through business arrangements the assets were transferred to the tax haven of Gibraltar, from where they were further invested in the booming Spanish property market. The Spanish police have so far confiscated, among other things, more than 250 properties, two aircraft, and a luxury yacht.
      The suspected centre of the illegal activities, a Spanish lawyer's office, is believed to have fabricated and set up new Spanish and foreign companies for the purpose of reinvesting the black money.
      For some time now Marbella has been known to play host to a concentration of international organised criminal activity, giving the region the unfortunate sobriquet "Costa del Crime".


Links:
  Yukos Oil

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