Tenerife cryptocurrency scammer jailed for €200 million fraud affecting 32,000 investors
The Spanish National Court has sentenced Santiago Fuentes Jover, founder of the cryptocurrency platform Arbistar, to eight years in prison for fraud and document falsification, after finding him guilty of defrauding some €200 million from around 32,000 investors.
His business partner, Diego Felipe Fernández Nojarova, has also been sentenced to six years in prison. Both men have been ordered to compensate 9,494 certified victims by returning the bitcoins transferred to Arbistar, with the exact amount to be decided in the enforcement of the ruling.
A Tenerife-based operation
Founded in Arona, south Tenerife, in 2019, Arbistar marketed itself as a cryptocurrency investment platform. Fuentes and his team promoted the business through public events and presentations in hotels and conference halls, many of which were broadcast on YouTube.
Thousands of mostly small-scale investors were drawn in, offered the chance to monitor their balances and “weekly profits” online. However, by August 2020, when several investors tried to withdraw their funds, the platform abruptly ceased operations, preventing any recovery of money.
Court ruling
The judges acquitted Fuentes, Fernández, and four other defendants of charges of belonging to a criminal organisation. They also rejected the prosecution’s request for harsher penalties for “aggravated fraud,” noting that there was insufficient evidence to prove that any single fraudulent act exceeded €50,000.
Still, the court found that Arbistar used false private contracts to create a completely fictitious legal framework, designed to give the appearance of legitimate business operations.
One of Spain’s largest crypto frauds
Spain’s Public Prosecutor had sought almost 30 years in prison for Fuentes, describing Arbistar as “one of the largest frauds in the history of cryptocurrency in Spain,” and the first major case where new technologies were used to defraud thousands of people through online platforms.
The ruling brings some closure for the victims, though compensation and the return of lost funds remain pending.
Share:
