The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has advanced the ongoing Spanish hydrocarbons fraud investigation, reporting that nearly €28 million was funneled from Spanish fuel companies to Portugal through a network of shell firms. The operation allegedly took place between 2022 and 2024 and centers on businessman Víctor de Aldama and several associates suspected of orchestrating the cross-border laundering scheme.
Documents sent to Judge Santiago Pedraz at Spain’s Audiencia Nacional show that Portuguese authorities first detected suspicious transfers into the Portuguese banking system from four Spanish companies: Salamanca Fuel, Canary Island, Casmar Hidrocarburos and Obaoil 3000. The funds came from the hydrocarbons sector and were allegedly disguised as payments for supplies, but investigators found no corresponding VAT declarations or legitimate business activity. That prompted a money-laundering probe in Portugal, which uncovered a complex web of fictitious companies used to move illicit profits back to Spain.
The EPPO’s findings identify the involvement of Aldama, Nuno Miguel Santos, José Manuel Recio and Juan Catalán. One Portuguese company, managed by a Brazilian student resident, received €10 million from Obaoil without declaring the income or issuing invoices. Another, Cálculo Corriente, officially engaged in concrete manufacturing and transport, received €5.9 million from Salamanca Fuel and Obaoil between March and September 2023. It declared only €3.1 million, with no clear link to the fuel sector.
Investigators also traced €7.4 million in transfers from Spanish fuel firms to Atmosferaudaz, a consultancy and real estate company founded in 2022 and linked to Aldama. Spanish Civil Guard reports in the case file describe Atmosferaudaz as a vehicle for repatriating funds to Spain, often through property purchases in regions such as Andalusia.
Of the €27.9 million scrutinized by Portuguese authorities, at least €9 million was returned to Spanish bank accounts. Another €3 million was routed to the United Kingdom via cryptocurrency brokers, while €3 million more was dispersed across accounts in countries including Poland, France, Belgium, Lithuania, Italy, Germany and Uruguay. Portuguese authorities seized €11.8 million of the €13 million that remained in Portugal. They concluded, but, that the core tax fraud occurred in Spain, prompting the transfer of the investigation to the Spanish branch of the EPPO earlier this summer.
Many individuals and companies identified by Portuguese investigators were already under scrutiny in the Spanish case led by Judge Pedraz since 2024. The Civil Guard’s Central Operative Unit (UCO) places Aldama and Claudio Rivas at the top of a structure allegedly designed to evade Spanish fuel taxes. Intermediaries were used to conceal the true nature of the transactions. Both men have denied wrongdoing in court.
The Spanish investigation now covers a suspected €231 million fraud against public finances, giving it a broader scope than the Portuguese probe. Alongside the companies named by the EPPO, the Spanish case examines firms such as Carburantes Jalón-Plaza, Skyward Tech and Espaeventos. The EPPO has formally handed over all relevant information to the Spanish judiciary, adding to the evidence in the ongoing proceedings.
European institutions continue to monitor cross-border financial crime and the protection of EU funds. The scale of the alleged fraud and the international cooperation involved show how complex these cases can be. Recent EU interventions in Spain have also focused on safeguarding vulnerable groups, as when Brussels pressed Spain to protect minors in Ceuta amid a migrant dispute.
The hydrocarbons case shows the challenges authorities face in tracking illicit financial flows across multiple jurisdictions. It also demonstrates the EPPO’s growing role in coordinating investigations across several EU member states and closing loopholes exploited by organized networks in sectors critical to national economies.
