Police in Spain have arrested six people suspected of giving the government false information on behalf of clients to facilitate their naturalization based on a 2015 law for descendants of Sephardic Jews, the El País newspaper reported Monday.
Detectives found more than $2.5 million in bank transfers that had been wired to the main suspect, identified only as Y.S. in the El País article. In addition, the suspect had sold a large asset for more than $3 million, the newspaper reported.
The suspects had allegedly conspired to provide applicants with fake genealogical papers proving their Sephardic ancestry. Police sources told El Pais that they had found at least 1,200 fake genealogical certificates.
Both Spain and Portugal have passed laws under which people with Sephardic ancestry may become citizens. The laws were meant as a gesture to atone for the persecution of Jews during the Iberian Inquisition, which began in 1492 and resulted in the murder of thousands of Jews and the exile of many more.
At least 90,000 people have become Spanish or Portuguese citizens via the laws.
Spain had a three-year window for applications, which closed and was extended several times, but is no longer in effect. Portugal ended its program last year following alleged corruption scandals.
The man described by El País as the main suspect, had not replied to JNS’s request for a comment by time of publication.