A network of alleged Albanian and Chinese mobsters is suspected of funnelling up to €22 million in cash through Malaga (and over €60m across Spain) as part of a major narco money-laundering ring.
According to reports from the Policia Nacional’s Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF), investigators believe the group operated in a coordinated way across several parts of Spain, using a chain of Chinese-run businesses to move large sums of illicit money.
While the principal suspects remain under judicial investigation, one alleged Asian ringleader has been released as the case continues.
According to the prosecutors, there are ‘hundreds of people under investigation’.
The inquiry, which began in 2021, suggests that more than 200 cash drop-offs took place in Malaga province alone.
Officers focused on a network of Chinese-owned shops and businesses suspected of collecting and distributing funds on behalf of Albanian drug traffickers.
The Guadalhorce industrial estate was identified as one of the areas where several of the businesses involved were based.
Similar operations were detected in Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid, Alicante and Sevilla, with the total value of the transactions possibly exceeding €60 million.
The cross-border network is believed to have relied on the informal money-transfer system known as hawala, allowing funds to be moved outside the banking system.
The case, led by Malaga’s Court of Instruction No. 14, centres on suspected offences of belonging to a criminal organisation, drug trafficking (mainly indoor cannabis cultivation) and money laundering.
By September 2023, the Policia Nacional had announced nearly 30 arrests across Madrid, Malaga, Sevilla, Valencia, Alicante and Barcelona.
Some 18 raids resulted in the seizure of €615,000 in cash, along with watches and jewellery worth more than €400,000.
Investigators concluded that the Costa del Sol was not only a major hub for cash collections but also a strategic base for the network’s financial operations. From Malaga city and surrounding towns, the group is thought to have coordinated laundering linked to cannabis plantations in other parts of Spain.
According to the investigation, more than €22 million of drug money may have been channelled through Asian-run businesses in Malaga, placing the province at the heart of the alleged financial operation.
The structure reportedly comprised two main groups: an Albanian faction responsible for producing and distributing cannabis, and a Chinese faction tasked with moving the profits through retailers and import businesses.
Both sides benefitted, as the traffickers allegedly laundered large amounts of drug revenue, while the business operators were able to send money to China outside official controls.
The businesses involved are described as acting like ‘shadow banks’, providing criminal groups with large amounts of cash outside the traditional banking system in exchange for compensation paid elsewhere.
Police describe the structure as a high-level drug-trafficking and money-laundering network. The Albanian suspects are considered ‘highly dangerous’, with access to firearms and a significant risk of flight.
The investigation gained momentum in November 2022, when officers seized 64.9 kilos of cannabis and arrested two suspects in Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid.
At the top of the hierarchy, investigators believe, were two Albanian nationals – a leader and his second-in-command – who worked with two long-standing Chinese associates.
Those associates, in turn, managed a wide portfolio of Chinese-run businesses across Spain, providing cash on demand to the criminal groups involved in drug trafficking.
The probe, which has unfolded in several phases since 2021, has run parallel to separate court cases in Madrid and Torremolinos, where arrests have already been made in connection with kidnapping, illegal weapons possession and document forgery.
How Hawala Works
- A person gives money to a hawaladar (a broker) in one country.
- The hawaladar contacts another broker in a different country.
- That second broker gives the equivalent amount of money to the intended recipient.
- The two brokers later settle the balance between themselves, often through trade, cash exchanges, or accounting offsets, without using banks or official transfers.
Key Characteristics
- No bank transfers, no paperwork, no official record.
- Relies on personal trust between brokers.
- Fast and cheap.
- Difficult for authorities to trace.
- Completely legal in some countries, but often exploited by criminal organisations to move large sums anonymously.
Why criminals use it
- Money moves internationally without crossing borders electronically.
- Leaves almost no traceable trail.
- Allows large volumes of cash to be “cleaned” or re-routed.
- Perfect for drug trafficking, tax evasion, and financing organised crime.
