Algeciras, Spain. A record cocaine seizure at the southern Spanish port of Algeciras has led to an international investigation into an alleged money-laundering network linked to South American drug cartels, Dubai real estate, cryptocurrency and a California-based SPAC.
Bloomberg reported that Spanish investigators are examining financial connections involving the founders of a company that raised about $200 million from public investors in 2025.
Record seizures and alleged trafficking
Spanish authorities seized about 13 tons of cocaine concealed in a Latin American banana shipment in autumn 2024. The seizure was the largest narcotics bust in Spain’s history at the time and among the largest recorded in Europe.
Preliminary documents prepared by magistrates in Madrid indicate that the investigation also covers a previous seizure of 1.6 tons of cocaine in May 2021. The two shipments had a combined street value of more than €350 million.
Authorities said phone records suggested the network smuggled a further 58 tons of cocaine into Spain between 2020 and 2024, with an estimated retail value of $3.5 billion.
Alleged financial network
Investigators allege that proceeds from drug trafficking were invested in high-end assets, including a €10 million villa at W Residences on Palm Jumeirah and other Dubai properties valued at €11 million. The group also allegedly held at least €10 million in Bitcoin and used Tether and VXL Dollar to transfer funds.
The investigation later identified links to a Wall Street venture that raised $200 million through a June 2025 initial public offering for an artificial intelligence and data centre SPAC.
Under Spanish law, key figures in the case have been designated as persons under judicial investigation, although formal criminal charges have not been filed.
Suspects and legal proceedings
Investigators identify Ignacio Torán as a central figure in the alleged network. They allege he established holding companies in Spain and abroad, using straw owners to conceal control of companies and high-value Dubai properties. Authorities describe Torán as a luxury watch enthusiast and Real Madrid supporter who had planned to invest in Argentine football players.
Óscar Sánchez, who was chief of the Spanish National Police’s anti-money-laundering unit at the time of the 2024 seizure, allegedly worked for Torán. Investigators believe Sánchez used his position to protect traffickers and facilitate logistics.
Police found about €20 million in cash hidden in the walls of Sánchez’s home, according to the investigation. Torán and Sánchez are both in pre-trial detention in Spain.
Torán’s lawyer declined to comment to Bloomberg. Sánchez’s lawyer did not dispute that cash was found at his client’s home but challenged the legality of the evidence, arguing that encrypted chat messages used by prosecutors were intercepted without proper judicial warrants.
California company connection
Spanish investigators said the alleged laundering operation relied on partnerships with Francisco de Borbón, a distant relative of Spain’s King Felipe VI and son of a duke, and Ketan Seth, an American investor based in Newport Beach, California.
Seth and De Borbón were managers of Alpha Trading, a California company founded in 2012 that presented itself as a global commodity sourcing and trading business with offices in New York, Miami and Madrid.
Authorities allege Alpha Trading was used to transfer Torán’s drug money from offshore entities into an escrow account at Atlas Bank in Panama through a financial instrument intended to give the transactions an appearance of legitimacy.