Top Anti Money Laundering Cop Arrested After 20 Million Found At Home
Madrid´s top-ranking anti-money laundering police officer Oscar Sanchez Gil, has been arrested alongside his partner, also a police officer, after authorities discovered €20 million hidden within the walls of their home in the municipality of Alcala de Henares.
The arrests follow a sweeping four-year investigation into Spain’s largest-ever cocaine bust. This unearthed tonnes of cocaine hidden in a shipping container in Algeciras in Andalucia.
The Central Investigative Court No. 1 in Madrid has ordered the provisional imprisonment of both officers. They have been accused of drug trafficking, money laundering, and bribery. The operation led to a total of 15 arrests. This included tax advisors and economists, and highlights deep-rooted corruption among law enforcement personnel. All 15 suspects faced the judiciary on Friday, with Judge Francisco de Jorge ordering pre-trial detention for each of them.
The catalyst for the investigation came in the wake of the Algeciras seizure which saw Spanish authorities uncovering 13,062 kilograms of cocaine hidden in a banana container arriving from Guayaquil, Ecuador. The seizure, the largest in Spain’s history, was the culmination of a meticulous four-year investigation into a banana import business based in Alicante. Investigators believed this to be a front for drug trafficking.
The National Police´s Internal Affairs Department began investigating the two officers after discovering suspicious financial transactions linked to a suspected drug trafficking organisation. According to sources familiar with the case, a payment from a company tied to a known narcotics dealer was traced to another company related to the police couple.
Though disguised as a legitimate service, the transaction raised red flags, prompting further investigation.
The arrested officer was the head of the Anti-Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) in Madrid. This falls under the jurisdiction of the Regional Judicial Police Brigade rather than the central services. The investigation has been conducted by Internal Affairs and the Organised Crime and Drugs Unit (UDYCO), revealing a network of corruption that spanned beyond the illicit flow of information.
The Anti-Drug Prosecutor’s Office opened proceedings earlier this year, eventually filing a formal complaint in June after a financial investigation pointed towards criminal activity involving the couple.
The investigation is continuing.
