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Algiers Visa Fraud Probe
Spain’s Audiencia Nacional has drawn BLS International into a criminal probe over an alleged cash-for-Schengen racket operating around the Spanish consulate in Algiers, with the fraudulent network reportedly collecting up to €25,000 per family.
“now also includes the Indian company BLS, which manages visa appointments and document processing”
The investigation began after the April arrests of consulate chancellor Vicente Moreno and local employee Mohamed Boutouchent, and it has now expanded to examine whether “processing platforms such as BLS” helped prepare applications and identify families willing to pay.
Judicial sources cited by The Objective say the scheme involved unverified, altered or false documents and cash collected from families, with some of it allegedly laundered in Spain through vehicle purchases.
The case is being overseen by Judge Maria Tardon of the National Court, and the accused individuals are facing investigation over five alleged offences including money laundering and membership of a criminal organisation.
Arrests, Seizures, and Measures
Spanish authorities arrested Vicente Moreno and Mohamed Boutouchent in April, and Moreno’s wife was included in the investigation although she was not arrested, according to The Objective as cited by NDTV.
After Moreno’s arrest and release, Judge Tardon imposed precautionary measures including confiscating his passport, barring him from leaving Spain, and ordering him to report to the police station twice a month.
Investigators conducted searches in Sagunto and Torrevieja and seized around ₹12,16,848 in cash along with four mobile phones and two laptops, while the National Court requested the freezing of a property in Madrid and several financial assets.
The probe is also tied to official communications from the Spanish Embassy in Algeria and warnings from the Interior Ministry’s office about a network whose “main objective was financial gain through the fraudulent granting of Schengen visas”.
BLS Contract and Stakes
The investigation’s expansion to BLS comes as Spain’s Foreign Ministry awarded BLS a contract in 2016 to manage visa appointments and document processing at selected Spanish consulates around the world, with the contract valued at €175 million.
“The Foreign Ministry awarded BLS a contract in 2016 to manage visa appointments and document processing”
Judicial sources told The Objective that the court is examining the alleged involvement of companies providing administrative services, including appointment allocation or document management, whose personnel allegedly facilitated the preparation of applications and profited by selecting only those families that had made the payments.
The alleged bribes were paid in cash, and investigators believe the money was later placed into apparently legal transactions, mainly through the purchase of motor vehicles, while the police operation named Jazira-Cova seized €10,890 in cash and 17 USB drives during searches in Sagunto and Torrevieja.
While no final findings or corporate convictions have been established against BLS International, the widening probe creates legal and reputational exposure as the case continues to evaluate whether BLS staff helped pick the paying families for a scheme described as a “cash-for-Schengen racket”.