- A member of the Cali cartel has been arrested in Malaga
- The unnamed criminal is said to have laundered €6 Million in cryptocurrencies
- The criminal set up a crypto trading company through which he ran the proceeds
A member of the Cali cartel who is thought to have laundered €6 million ($7 million) worth of drug money through cryptocurrencies has been arrested in Malaga, representing a blow to those who argue that cryptocurrency use among the criminal class is dropping. The as yet unnamed individual was arrested in the Spanish city after being implicated in “large scale money laundering” on behalf of the cartel, while at the same time agents in the Netherlands seized cryptocurrency, computers, and crypto wallets belonging to him.
Cali Cartel Member Was Former Interpol Prime Target
Policía Nacional, the Spanish national police corps, announced the development earlier this week, stating that they worked with the Netherlands Police and the Tax Agency in order to bring down the individual, who was previously Interpol’s number one target.
The announcement confirmed that the Colombian had “moved more than 6,000,000 euros in cryptocurrencies, in money from drug trafficking”, primarily the cocaine trafficking for which the Cali cartel is famous.
Dutch police seized $170,000 in cryptocurrency from the Cali catrel man’s home at the same time at his arrest in Malaga, with several “encrypted cryptocurrency wallets” also taken.
Accused Fled Netherlands After Police Pressure
Police became aware of the Cali cartel’s Malaga operation in 2018, and in particular the activities of the arrested man, who fled to Marbella following pressure on him in the Netherlands. In order to disguise his money laundering activities, the arrested man set up a company dedicated to trading cryptocurrencies to provide a smokescreen.
The news that some $7 million worth of Cali cartel drug money has been laundered through cryptocurrencies backs up the arguments of critics who say that the only use for them is for criminal activities such as this. The fact is that criminal usage of cryptocurrencies is reducing, and that this individual’s activities date back to 2018 when regulations weren’t as tough as they are now.
