Spanish police on Wednesday arrested 30 people on grounds of money laundering. They were suspected of illegally distributing pay television content and of laundering the proceeds by investing in bitcoin "mining" centers for processing transactions.
Chief Commissioner of the Specialist Crime Unit, Hector Moreno, said that the digital currency was cashed for euros and used for purchases such as luxury cars, and properties. The police said they have so far seized 31,320 euros ($34,903) in bitcoins, cash, motorbikes, luxury cars and a small aircraft. The arrest took place in cities of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Cordoba.
Six bitcoin mining centers were seized by the police following an investigation alongside Spain's tax office which started as a crackdown on a scheme to illegally decode and distribute pay-TV content.
Reuters reported that, the police did not mention how much money had been laundered through the bitcoin mining operation. Europol has been involved with the investigation and police say, “The total earnings are still underway.”
Earlier this year, Netherland police arrested several people in similar case for using bitcoins for money laundering. Although the digital money bitcoin is legal in Spain, it is still under the Spanish Anti-Money Laundering for criminal investigations.
