110 arrested in unprecedented boiler room fraud raids
110 people, including 20 in the UK, have been arrested as part of an international police crackdown on boiler room fraud.
Operation Rico, which culminated in a string of raids over this week, was headed by City of London Police.
850 victims have been confirmed in the UK, although the figure is reportedly likely to be in the thousands.
High-value goods including an Aston Martin, Ferrari, Mustang and over £500,000 cash have been seized.
The force said the investigation is a "landmark" one. City of London Police commander, and national economic crime co-ordinator, Steve Head, said:
It is our most important investigation ever, targeting people we believe are at the top of an organised crime network that has been facilitating boiler rooms across Europe and which is suspected of being responsible for millions of pounds of investment fraud.
London forces joined Spanish counterparts in Madrid, Barcelona and Marbella, with arrests also made in the US and Serbia.
Boiler room fraud is so-called because of the cramped, often underground, conditions, from which fraudsters work. They dupe investors and past investors into buying non-existent or valueless shares.
In the final year of the investigation, leading up to the arrests made this week, City of London Police restrained £1.5m in UK bank accounts which they believed to be gained through boiler room activity.
From their news release:
Of the 110 arrests, there were 84 in Spain, 20 in the UK, two in the United States and four in Serbia with the majority of people arrested on suspicion of money laundering and fraud offences.
The operation also led to the closure of what are believed to be 14 boiler rooms in Spain, two in the UK and one in Serbia.