Guardia Civil seeks freeze on 78.3 million euros in Portugal linked to fuel tax fraud

Cross-border money laundering network

The Central Operative Unit of Spain's Guardia Civil requested National Court Judge Santiago Pedraz to freeze approximately 70 bank accounts in Portugal holding more than 78.3 million euros linked to a fuel tax fraud scheme. The network was directed by business intermediary Víctor de Aldama and Villafuel owner Claudio Rivas Ruiz-Capillas between 2022 and 2024. Investigators report that the operation generated an estimated 182.5 million euros in unpaid value-added tax by cycling wholesale fuel through intermediary companies before reaching retail markets. Police identified two parallel networks set up by the suspects to execute the scheme.

The first, designed specifically to operate in the hydrocarbon market, perfecting the fraud that gives rise to the commission of the offence against the Public Treasury. And the second, designed to enable the laundering of illicitly obtained capital.

Tracking Spanish fund outflows to Portugal

Police traced 78,318,349 euros transferred from Spanish commercial entities to Portuguese bank accounts to obscure the illicit origin of the funds. The largest outflow originated directly from Villafuel, which transferred 36.4 million euros to Portuguese accounts. Other significant transfers came from OBAOIL 3000 at 14.4 million euros, Salamanca Fuel Center at 10.7 million euros, and Casmar Hidrocarburos at 6.7 million euros. Additional sums were sent by Still Growing (3.7 million euros), Espaeventos (3.7 million euros), and Canary Islands Fuel Company (2.6 million euros). A portion of the funds returned to Spain without declaration, while other sums moved to international jurisdictions.

Portuguese shell company scrutiny

Investigators asked Judge Pedraz to issue European Investigation Orders to Portuguese authorities to verify whether recipient entities conducted genuine business operations. Specific scrutiny focuses on Ef Iber Combustiveis, Atmosferaudaz Unipessoal, Proezencontrada, and Cuboflamejante. The UCO asked authorities to inspect corporate tax records, physical office addresses, utility bills, employee payroll records, and telecommunications contracts. Police suspect these Portuguese entities were shell companies without commercial premises or staff. In examining Villafuel's accounts, investigators found that while Spanish records logged 36,321,675 euros sent to Portugal, Portuguese records registered 50,316,663 euros arriving, leaving an unexplained difference of 14 million euros.

During the analysis of bank products provided by Portuguese authorities, a lack of sufficient information was detected in the description of certain bank movements to allow identification of the origin or destination of funds, thus preventing the study of their traceability.

Irish crypto trails and broader international reach

The Guardia Civil also requested judicial orders directed at Irish authorities after identifying fund transfers from Portugal into cryptocurrency platforms. Financial records from Banco BPI showed that Portuguese firm Letras e Contrastes sent 213,663 euros across 13 transactions between June and August 2022 to Payward Europe, the Dublin-based parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. Kraken declined to release user identity and transaction records without a formal judicial warrant. The broader money trail identified by investigators extends to accounts and operations in China, Germany, and Italy. The hydrocarbon investigation constitutes the fourth branch of a wider corruption case that previously involved former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and advisor Koldo García.

Part of the funds transferred to Portugal were allocated to investment in cryptoassets, transferring funds directly from Portuguese companies to exchange platforms responsible for intermediation in cryptoasset operations.