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ARCHIVED - Broker accused of biggest cryptocurrency fraud in Spain plunges to his death on the Costa del Sol
Javier Biosca was staying with family at a golf complex in Estepona when he fell to his death from a terrace
Broker Javier Biosca, who was at the centre of Spain's biggest probe into cryptocurrency fraud, was found dead at a golf complex in Estepona, Andalucia on Tuesday morning, November 22.
Biosca, who was arrested in 2021 for an alleged 280 million Bitcoin scam, was staying at an apartment on the resort with his wife and son when his body was discovered at around 11.15am by a hotel worker. The employee, on hearing a "thud", found the deceased's body on one of the complex's common areas and she raised the alarm.
National Police are investigating the circumstances of the broker's death, and initial inquiries suggest no third parties were involved.
Sources close to the Bitcoin scam case reported that Biosca had been arrested by the police around three weeks ago following a legal complaint and was scheduled to make a court appearance imminently.
Biosca was arrested in June 2021 in Torrox, during a routine check by the Guardia Civil. An identity check revealed the broker was subject to an arrest warrant and under investigation for a cryptocurrency scam worth more than 280 million in bitcoins.
The complaint was initially filed in a Galician court by lawyer Emilia Zaballos on behalf of the first alleged 'victims'. Within weeks, the number of victims rose to more than 600, with judges, notaries and tax inspectors among the conned investors.
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Biosca presented himself on social networks as the manager of a company dedicated to online marketing since 2010. Allegedly, he began to recruit potential partners to invest in cryptocurrencies in 2019, promising, according to the complaint filed against him, a return of between 20 and 25% per week. He later lowered this guarantee to 10%.
His business began with around 30 clients and quickly grew to more than 500. Biosca then decided to move from Toledo to Marbella with his family in order to increase his network radius and search for investors with greater purchasing power.
He soon made a name for himself on the Costa del Sol and even organised a well-attended event he called 'The Bitcoin Party'.
His luxurious mansion boasted four safes and a panic room, and he surrounded himself with a security team.
Everything suggested that the broker was at the top of his game with investors who put up to 20 million euros to buy bitcoins, according to lawyer Emilia Zaballos, and others who gave him all of their life savings.
But at the end of 2020 the broker began to renege on his profitability commitments and his empire began to crumble around him.
Image: Archive/Agencia Tributaria
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