The arrest on November 6, 2025, marks the takedown of one in every of Europe’s largest cryptocurrency-related pyramid schemes, affecting over 3,000 victims throughout a number of nations.
The Spanish Civil Guard performed the arrest beneath Operation PONEI, with help from Europol and legislation enforcement companies from the US, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Romillo appeared in courtroom on November 7 and was denied bail attributable to flight danger considerations. Choose José Luis Calama ordered him held in provisional jail pending trial.
The Madeira Make investments Membership Scheme
Romillo’s fraudulent operation centered across the Madeira Make investments Membership (MIC), which launched in early 2023. The membership offered itself as an unique personal funding group providing alternatives in luxurious belongings together with actual property, high-end autos, yachts, uncommon whiskey, gold, and cryptocurrencies.
Buyers had been promised annual returns between 20% and 53%. The scheme used digital paintings buy agreements, claiming it might purchase NFTs and different digital artwork that might later be resold at assured income. Nonetheless, investigators discovered no actual enterprise exercise behind the operation.
In keeping with Spanish authorities, the Madeira Make investments Membership functioned as a traditional Ponzi scheme. Cash from new buyers paid returns to earlier individuals, creating the phantasm of profitability whereas the operation collapsed from inside. The scheme collected €7 million in membership charges alone earlier than its shutdown in September 2024.
Worldwide Felony Community
The investigation revealed an in depth legal community spanning not less than 15 nations. Romillo allegedly managed 52 shell corporations and maintained 106 financial institution accounts throughout a number of jurisdictions together with Portugal, the UK, Estonia, the Dominican Republic, Albania, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
A key consider denying Romillo bail was the invention of €29 million in a Singapore checking account linked to the accused. This substantial offshore holding heightened considerations that he would flee to keep away from prosecution.
Investigators additionally uncovered Romillo’s involvement with SentinelBQ, a Madrid-based firm providing roughly 5,000 safe deposit bins. This service allowed shoppers to retailer money, gold, and cryptocurrencies with out authorized data, successfully facilitating tax evasion and cash laundering.
Political Scandal Emerges
The case took a political flip when Romillo admitted to giving €100,000 in money to Luis “Alvise” Pérez Fernández, a far-right Member of the European Parliament. The cost occurred on Might 27, 2024, simply days earlier than the European elections, which Pérez has additionally acknowledged receiving.
Pérez leads the political motion “Se Acabó La Fiesta” (The Occasion’s Over), which surprisingly gained three seats within the European Parliament elections in June 2024. Spanish prosecutors are actually investigating whether or not Romillo helped create cryptocurrency wallets to obtain nameless political donations, probably violating marketing campaign finance legal guidelines.
The Supreme Courtroom has opened a number of circumstances towards Pérez, together with costs of unlawful marketing campaign financing, fraud, and cash laundering. This growth has uncovered potential hyperlinks between cryptocurrency fraud and far-right political actions in Spain.
Lavish Way of life and Seized Property
Earlier than his arrest, Romillo flaunted an extravagant life-style funded by investor cash. He owned the “Omnia,” a luxurious yacht valued at €23 million with 59 meters in size, 4 decks, and lodging for a 17-person crew. Authorities have seized this vessel together with different yachts named “The Coop,” “Joker,” and “Alter Ego.”
Legislation enforcement additionally confiscated a number of properties, luxurious autos, cryptocurrency wallets, and financial institution accounts. These belongings had been bought utilizing funds that ought to have been invested on behalf of victims. Throughout the pandemic, Romillo gained followers by posting movies about cryptocurrency and tax evasion methods, all the time showing with a masks that hid his face.
Earlier Warnings Ignored
The Spanish Nationwide Securities Market Fee (CNMV) issued a warning about Madeira Make investments Membership in Might 2023, stating the corporate lacked authorization to function as a collective funding establishment. Regardless of this public alert, the scheme continued working for over a yr earlier than lastly shutting down.
Romillo additionally confronted accusations of offering monetary recommendation with out correct credentials. The Affiliation of Cryptocurrency Customers filed a grievance claiming he supplied tax and funding steerage by way of social media regardless of missing required {qualifications} and CNMV registration. His TikTok account had attracted 212,000 followers earlier than the scheme collapsed.
The Fallout Continues
Past Romillo himself, investigators are inspecting his shut associates and relations who allegedly helped function the community. This consists of his father, Domingo Romillo Iriarte, who managed web sites and financial institution accounts for Madeira Make investments Membership, and several other different relations who managed related corporations.
The case stays beneath energetic investigation as authorities work to get better stolen belongings and determine extra accomplices. Victims have organized by way of authorized illustration to hunt compensation, although recovering funds from complicated worldwide schemes usually proves troublesome.
Some affected buyers now face calls for from Spanish tax authorities for “tax regularization” associated to their participation within the scheme, including monetary strain past their preliminary losses.
When Guarantees Shine Too Brilliant
The CryptoSpain case serves as a stark reminder that terribly excessive returns normally sign fraud relatively than alternative. Whereas cryptocurrency markets provide official funding prospects, schemes promising assured income of 20-53% yearly ought to increase speedy crimson flags. The mix of regulatory warnings, nameless operations, and political connections created an online of deception that finally collapsed, leaving hundreds of victims in search of justice and struggling to get better their investments.
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