An international operation staged by UK and Spanish police has led to the arrest of more than 100 fraudsters. It is believed that approximately 850 UK victims, many of whom were pensioners, have been defrauded of £15m after being sold shares that were near worthless or completely worthless. One victim took their own life when they discovered that they had lost their savings. The boiler room fraud arrests mark one of the largest anti-fraud operations of all time, leading to the arrest of criminals in Spain and the UK.
The fraud ring was described as being guilty of boiler room fraud, although this term is only used to describe the fact that the criminals usually operate from a dark and confined space. The fraud itself concerned the sale of non-existent or worthless shares. The fraudsters convinced hundreds of people to buy the “shares”, effectively leaving them with nothing to show for their purchase.
Police have confirmed 850 UK victims of the crimes, but have said that the numbers may well total thousands. Many people are unwilling to report fraud of this nature because they are ashamed or embarrassed, even though the police have urged victims to come forward. Victims and some of the criminals hail from the UK, but Spanish police were involved because some of the criminals were located in Spain.
Many of the victims were pensioners, and the criminals have been condemned for preying on vulnerable people that may not have any means of recovering the money that has gone missing.
110 people were arrested in Madrid, Barcelona, Marbella, and London, utilising police from the UK and Spain. Commissioner Jose Luis Andre Vega, of the Spanish police, has said that this type of crime knows no boundaries and that it is important that they are investigated on an international level. The size of the crime, the number of victims, and the geographic spread of arrests makes this one of the largest and most unique anti-fraud stings of all time. Many of the criminals will be indicted back to the UK for conviction.