Cops in Ibiza have seized a luxury 130-foot superyacht wanted in connection with an international money laundering investigation in France.
The 40-metre vessel (131-foot) vessel, valued at EUR 6 million (GBP 5.1 million), was seized while anchored off the party island’s famous Cala Jondal beach, the Spanish authorities said.
Customs agents, drugs police and tax investigators boarded the yacht after a French investigation revealed its owner’s alleged links to money laundering operations.
The bust comes after the Spanish authorities searched an industrial warehouse and a luxury villa that cost EUR 20,000 (GBP 17,200) a month, with the cops seizing documents allegedly showing that a number of companies had been created to carry out illegal acts.
Newsflash obtained a statement from Spanish National Police on 1st August, saying: “On 1st August 2023, Customs Surveillance Officers from the Tax Authority and UDYCO (Central Unit for Drug and Organised Crime) of the National Police carried out an operation against money laundering in Ibiza, leading to the seizure of a ‘superyacht’ in collaboration with the French judicial and police authorities.
“This operation was part of a European cooperation investigation against international money laundering, which had its origins in an alleged tax offence committed in France.”
They added: “The operation in Spain commenced in mid-July with judicial authorisation for searches and raids at an industrial warehouse, a luxury villa for which a monthly rent of EUR 20,000 was paid, and a ‘superyacht.'”
The statement went on: “The seized vessel, measuring 40 metres in length and valued at nearly EUR 6 million, was apprehended by the patrol boat ‘Colimbo’ from the Customs Surveillance Service, based in Ibiza, and has already been made available to the court as part of an alleged money laundering offence.”
The Spanish authorities provided no further details regarding the investigation, which is ongoing.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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