Spain arrests crypto blogger Alvaro Romillo for $300 million fraud

Key points:

• Spanish authorities have arrested crypto blogger Álvaro Romillo, accused of creating the Madeira Invest Club Ponzi scheme, which caused investors losses of more than $300 million.
• The investigation found that MIC promised returns of up to 20% per annum but actually operated as a pyramid scheme.
• The court ruled to remand Romillo in custody without bail due to the risk of flight.

Spanish authorities issued an arrest warrant for Álvaro Romillo, a well-known cryptocurrency blogger and founder of the alleged Madeira Invest Club (MIC) Ponzi scheme. He is accused of fraud amounting to approximately $300 million, which affected thousands of investors.

Romillo was arrested on Thursday after investigators found a bank account in Singapore with 29 million EUR (approximately $33,5 million) linked to his companies.

National Court Judge José Luis Calama ruled to remand Romillo in custody without bail, considering that he could flee.

H2 H2 How the Madeira Invest Club scheme worked

According to Spain’s Civil Guard, the MIC project attracted more than 3000 investors by promising huge returns of up to 20% per annum. In total, participants invested around 260 million EUR.

The company claimed to invest in digital art and luxury items such as yachts, Ferrari cars, and gold, and guaranteed the repurchase of assets. Investigators believe it was a Ponzi scheme.

The investigation began in late 2024. By October, several complaints had been filed, and later the police seized dozens of luxury cars and other property linked to MIC.

The arrest took place only after the prosecutor’s office discovered offshore accounts, which confirmed the risk of flight.

H2 H2 Possible sentence and details of the hearing

According to court documents, Romillo could face up to nine years in prison, and if the crime is recognized as “massive,” up to 18 years.

At Friday’s hearing, he said he plans to return the money to investors and has already paid damages to about 2700 people, but he did not provide any evidence of this.

The situation was exacerbated by his admission of a secret donation of 100 000 EUR to the campaign of far-right politician Luis “Alvise” Pérez, leader of the SALF party, who is also under investigation.

H2 H2 Damages from attacks in 2025

According to a report by CertiK, crypto investors lost more than $2,2 billion in the first half of 2025 due to hacks, phishing, and data leaks.

• Wallet hacks caused $1,7 billion in damages (34 incidents);
• Phishing attacks caused about $410 million (132 cases).

These figures show that even experienced users remain vulnerable to fraudsters, especially if they do not check transactions carefully.