Those responsible faced payments with the money of new users and promised returns above 50% of the initial investment.
International digital fraud rings appear to have found more than just a favorable climate in the Canary Islands. Following the dismantling a few months ago of the Creators Alliance network based in Santa Lucía de Tirajana , it was revealed this week that a criminal organization operating out of a coworking space in Gran Canaria, which used a Ponzi scheme to defraud people with cryptocurrencies, has been broken up after months of investigation by the Civil Guard.
FX Winning presented itself as a modern cryptocurrency and foreign exchange investment platform, but behind it lay one of the largest international financial frauds in recent history. Registered in Hong Kong but operating from a coworking space on Calle Torres in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the company eventually recruited more than 60.000 investors in 30 countries—15.000 in Spain alone. The scam, based on a classic Ponzi scheme, reportedly generated losses of between $1.000 billion and $3.000 billion.
Those behind the scheme used brands like We Are Turbo and TWT Advisors MX to expand the fraud across Latin America and Europe, backed by a well-oiled network of promoters. The scheme, classic but effective: pay the first with the money of the next until the house of cards collapsed in 2023. Delays in withdrawing funds turned into total blockages. The excuse: problems with identity verification. The reality: the money was gone.
The Civil Guard had been on their trail for a year and a half. This Tuesday, the operational phase was activated with searches and arrests in Las Palmas and another city on the peninsula. Five were arrested, accused of money laundering, fraud, and embezzlement. The investigation is under secrecy and in the hands of Central Investigative Court No. 6 of the National Court. This is a long-running affair.
Law firms such as Zaballos Abogados and Aránguez Abogados represent thousands of victims and point to a corporate structure with front men and shell companies. And, as if that weren't enough, everything indicates that the final amount defrauded could be even higher.
