Spanish authorities have arrested Álvaro Romillo Castillo, nicknamed “Cryptospain”, the leader of a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme worth 300 million USD that defrauded over 3,000 investors. Castillo ran Madeira Invest Club, self-proclaimed as a “private investment group” engaged in real estate, luxury cars, gold, and cryptocurrency, promising a profit of 20% per year. However, investigations revealed this to be a Ponzi scheme, using funds from new investors to pay old ones, with a network of shell accounts and companies in at least eight countries.
The case became political when Castillo was accused of donating 115,000 USD to the 2024 campaign of Luis “Alvise” Pérez Fernández, a far-right European MP. Prosecutors are investigating allegations that he used a cryptocurrency wallet to receive anonymous donations, possibly for money laundering and to conceal the sources of political funds.
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