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Date Published: 28/07/2022

ARCHIVED - Irish gang in Spain under investigation for 2m euro asphalt scam

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The fraudsters weren’t paying any taxes in Spain and the company had no employees registered

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Irish gang in Spain under investigation for 2m euro asphalt scam

The Guardia Civil in the Valencian Community is investigating a large Irish criminal organisation for raking in more than two million euros a year through their ‘asphalt scam’. Although the fraudsters typically targeted businesses in industrial estates, the investigation has revealed that several public bodies, including schools, were also scammed.

Operation ‘Ricadona’ kicked off in June 2019 when a businessman from the Valencian town of Picassent reported that he had been cheated by the Irish group. Their modus operandi was to approach business owners and offer to lay asphalt on their outdoor lots at a ridiculously low price. The scammers had plenty of documentation showing they were legitimate and, thinking they were getting a great deal, the companies would then sign a contract and work would begin.

According to the official reports, several Irish workers would indeed turn up to do the job, complete with all of the proper equipment and machinery. Once the work was complete, the business would be issued with an invoice and transfer the agreed price into the asphalt company’s bank account.

So far so good. Unfortunately, after a few days one particular victim noticed that the asphalt hadn’t been laid to the correct thickness and that it was of very poor quality. Moreover, he discovered that the scammer had doctored the measurements on the original quote, charging him for a far larger surface area than had been worked on.

The investigators discovered that the so-called construction workers had been busy all across Spain and had made a fortune; however, within months of completing a job, the money was withdrawn from their bank account and transferred overseas to make tracing it more difficult.

Despite invoicing 2,163,902.57 euros over the course of a year, the asphalt company wasn’t registered to pay income tax or VAT in Spain and had no employees listed.

After more than two years of laborious investigation, two men and one woman of Irish nationality, aged between 24 and 57, are being investigated; the suspected ringleader is currently abroad and officials are waiting on collaboration with foreign authorities.

Image: Guardia Civil

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