Around 200 victims of an alleged EUR 15 million ($17 million) investment fraud in Spain are expected to recover more than one-third, or about EUR 6 million ($6.91 million) of that sum, using funds surrendered by UK gambling operators.
How Did the Scheme Work?
Iban Juvanteny Gómez is the alleged mastermind behind the Ponzi scheme, which involved millions of Euros, which he gambled in casinos in the UK. According to the prosecution, he posed as an experienced financial professional and ran the investment scheme between 2012 and 2019.
Juvanteny allegedly falsely claimed to be a broker with Barclays and promised high returns to friends, relatives, and other acquaintances in his hometown of Girona, in Spain’s Catalonia region. Police allege the scheme ultimately defrauded more than 200 people of approximately EUR 15 million.
His scheme began to unravel in 2019 after complaints were filed with the Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police force, and Juvanteny turned himself in that April. No trial date has been set, and outstanding procedural issues could delay the proceedings until 2028.
Juvanteny Spent Millions in UK Casinos
During the investigation, authorities discovered that Juvanteny had spent substantial sums through UK-based online casinos and sportsbooks. A joint investigation by the Mossos d’Esquadra, Europol, and West Yorkshire Police concluded that he had gambled several million pounds with UK operators. The findings prompted the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) to investigate several gambling companies for potential regulatory failures linked to Juvanteny’s activities.
Following more than two years of cross-border cooperation, West Yorkshire Police transferred more than EUR 6 million ($6.91 million) to judicial authorities in Girona in late April 2021. The funds were set aside for possible restitution to victims, subject to approval by the Spanish courts.
According to Catalan news outlet APD, the recovered money came from regulatory settlements imposed on UK gambling operators over shortcomings in their anti-money laundering controls. The operators involved have not been publicly identified.
However, a 2021 response in the UK Parliament stated that the UKGC had required Betway, Gamesys, Platinum Gaming, and Betfred operator Petfre to make payments after stolen funds had been gambled through their platforms. The combined payments exceeded GBP 6.2 million (about $8.33 million).
In other news from the UK, authorities recently arrested three suspects during raids on suspected illegal gambling dens.