The magistrate of the National Court (AN) José Luis Calama has given a new boost to the procedure against Álvaro Romillo, known as 'CryptoSpain', the businessman who delivered 100,000 euros to the MEP Luis 'Alvise' Pérez, by concluding the investigation into the alleged pyramid scam articulated through the cryptocurrency investment platform Madeira Invest Club (MIC).
This is stated in an order to which Europa Press has had access, in which Calama declares the summary concluded and recalls that Romillo and nine other investigated individuals were already prosecuted in December "for facts that could constitute crimes of aggravated fraud, criminal organization, money laundering, and falsification of commercial documents," granting the parties a period of ten days to appear before the Court.
In that processing resolution, according to the judicial document, the judge attributed to Romillo and nine other accused the alleged scam of more than 185 million euros to a total of 3,062 investors between January 2023 and September 2024, setting for all of them a joint bail exceeding 247 million euros.
On November 7, Calama ordered the provisional imprisonment without bail of Romillo upon assessing the risk of flight, a measure that was subsequently ratified by the Criminal Chamber.
The instructor, who sees indications of mass fraud and criminal organization, also agreed to open a separate case for money laundering. In the magistrate's opinion, Romillo, "driven by an illicit profit motive, devised and launched a structured and hierarchical criminal organization, of which he assumed the direction and leadership."
This criminal structure would allegedly be formed by Romillo himself and the rest of the prosecuted individuals who, "under the instructions of their leader, performed specific functions aimed at the recruitment of victims, the management of the digital platform used as an instrument of fraud, and the concealment of the profits obtained."
Watches, high-end cars, and gold as bait
According to the judge's details, the purpose of the criminal organization was the "systematic appropriation of the amounts received from third parties for supposed investments that were advertised using the digital portal Madeirainvest.com, which appeared to be a safe and profitable investment platform."
"Through said website, fictitious financial products were offered with the aim of attracting potential investors. Among those products or works, as they called them, were watches, vehicles, real estate, startups, gold, and other precious metals," states the ruling.
The magistrate points out that the clients, "trusting in the appearance of legality and solvency that the platform conveyed, in which they even claimed minimum returns of 20 percent, made financial contributions that were diverted by the members of the organization to accounts controlled by Romillo and his collaborators, without any real investment activity existing." A significant portion of the affected parties has joined the case represented by lawyers Emilia Zaballos and Francisco Jiménez, as well as by the firm Aránguez Abogados.
Romillo, the judge adds, "exercised direct control over the operations, coordinating the fundraising, the manipulation of the information offered on the platform, and the distribution of the illicit profits among the members of the organization."
As a result of these actions, the ruling indicates, 3,062 investors would have been harmed, suffering economic losses derived from the fraudulent conduct attributed to Romillo and the rest of the members of the alleged criminal organization, quantified at 185,511,947.76 euros.
To disseminate his activity, Romillo used various communication channels such as TikTok or YouTube, where he published videos about financial products, cryptocurrencies, tax evasion, and tax issues both national and international. The judge emphasizes that, within his marketing strategy, he also promoted mass events in which well-known figures such as "Alvise" Pérez participated.