Three months after they were seized by SPAK, the Tirana Prosecutor's Office also announced on Friday that it had seized business companies, land, and bank accounts invested from Albania by the leaders of a cryptocurrency pyramid scheme in Spain.
The Tirana Prosecutor's Office announced on Friday that it had seized several commercial companies, over 23 hectares of land in Dhërmi, as well as vehicles and bank accounts owned by Spanish citizen Alvaro Castillo - accused of setting up an international fraud scheme worth 30 million euros from Spain to the United States of America.
According to the announcement, the properties seized in Albania are suspected to be the product of the criminal offense of money laundering.
Data obtained by BIRN shows, however, that the Tirana Prosecution's seizure measures have no practical value, as the same properties were previously seized by the Special Prosecution.
According to documents at the National Business Center, companies owned by Casillo and his relatives, Wingwort, Wortend and Wortnova, as well as other properties, have been placed under the administration of the Sequestered and Confiscated Assets Administration Agency, AAPSK, since October 16, 2025.
Asked by BIRN about this overlapping of seizures, prosecutor Ndini Tavani of the Tirana Prosecution Office said that the seizure measure was imposed on the basis of a criminal proceeding for the offense of "Laundering the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity", initiated following information forwarded by the State Police.
Tavani also explained that he was aware of the seizures previously carried out by SPAK, but according to him, the latter were not investigating Spanish citizens, but "had carried out the seizures based on a letter of request from the Spanish authorities."
"Given that our investigation began long before SPAK carried out the seizure, and due to the fact that there is no parallel investigation by them, I continued the investigation and followed the relevant procedures, concluding with the request for seizure," said Prosecutor Tavani, adding that he was performing his duty according to legal requirements.
According to investigations conducted by the Tirana Prosecution Office, Alvaro Castillo, his father, Domingo Iriarte, and his partner Mihaela Manole are accused of having created a fraud scheme through the creation of companies in Spain, Portugal, Albania, the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Estonia. According to the prosecution, the value obtained through this scheme is estimated to reach 30 million euros.
In 2024, they registered three companies in Albania with the purpose of tourism or real estate investments, which were involved in contracts, transfers and commercial exchanges with companies registered in Bulgaria, Slovakia or Malaysia.
According to the prosecution, these companies purchased real estate in Dhërmi at values significantly lower than market value.
The verifications carried out have shown that these entities carry out the same activity and have the same address, with administrators who are Spanish citizens. They also have a "suspended" status, which, according to the prosecution, raises suspicions about the existence of a possible joint economic activity and the formal use of the entities for the purpose of concealing or transferring income of dubious origin.
Domingo Iarte is under investigation in Spain for pyramid scheme and money laundering. The investigation is mainly related to his activities in the company Madeira Invest Club and other financial companies. However, at the center of the scheme is suspected to be his son, Alvaro Castillo, arrested in Spain and known in the networks as 'Luis' or 'Cryptospain'.
"He communicated with clients on the Telegram platform, convincing them to invest amounts starting from 1.5 million euros, without being required to identify themselves. This made it impossible to trace financial transactions," the announcement quotes, adding that this criminal network had set up fictitious companies in several countries to hide the flow of money. /BIRN/
