Spanish authorities have tracked over 78 million euros in transfers from Spain to Portugal, all linked to a hydrocarbon fraud ring. The case centers on Villafuel and companies tied to Víctor de Aldama, already convicted for corruption. Investigators are now moving to freeze accounts and widen the cross-border probe.
More than 78 million euros moved quietly from Spain to Portugal. The money ran through a tangle of companies at the center of a hydrocarbon fraud now under the Guardia Civil's spotlight. Villafuel SL, with ties to convicted fixer Víctor de Aldama, sits at the heart of the scheme. The case has set off a new round of court and financial action.
The Unidad Central Operativa (UCO) lays out the numbers: 78.3 million euros sent from Spanish banks to Portuguese firms. Of that, 8.8 million landed in three companies linked directly to Aldama. This goes beyond tax dodging. Investigators say the network built a system to cheat the Spanish Treasury and wash the profits through international transfers.
According to Spanish media citing UCO documents, over 56.5 million euros have been traced as actually received by Portuguese companies involved in the scheme.
Villafuel SL, run by Claudio Rivas, used its license as a wholesale petroleum distributor to sign a logistics deal with Exolum Corporation, which acts as a tax warehouse. Villafuel then bought petroleum products from other suppliers. After that, it staged fake deals with seven companies it controlled. These middlemen hid the real path of the fuel and the money, making it harder to trace who really benefited when the fuel reached service stations.
The UCO report, reviewed by elDiario.es and first reported by Cadena Ser, shows how the network worked both sides: dodging taxes and moving large sums out of Spain. The money trail led to Portugal, where the funds landed in local companies, making the web even harder to untangle.
Officials now estimate the total tax fraud from this network is over 180 million euros. The UCO has asked Judge Santiago Pedraz to freeze all bank accounts involved and to approve new steps. These include tracking any money that may have come back to Spain, sending European investigation orders to Portuguese authorities for more records, and making international requests to find assets that may have been turned into cryptocurrency.
Judge Santiago Pedraz had previously requested the freezing of Portuguese accounts back in 2024, but at that time, confirmation of enforcement was not received. The renewed request in September 2026 reflects intensified cooperation efforts and a push for broader asset freezes and investigative actions across European jurisdictions.
This case follows a pattern seen in other big financial crimes, like the VAT fraud involving Alejandro Hamlyn. Hamlyn managed to avoid extradition after Spanish authorities failed to act, as reported earlier.
The Villafuel operation shows how easy it is to hide money in cross-border fuel trading and how tough it is to track illegal cash flows inside the EU. Millions are still missing, and the investigation now reaches into digital assets. Spain's justice system faces a real test in breaking up these deep-rooted financial crime networks. Freezing assets and pushing for international help marks a tougher approach, but real results will depend on steady pressure and open cooperation across borders.
