David Merino, alleged head of FX Winning crypto scam, arrested in Dubai

David Merino, head of FX Winning, arrested in Dubai

The arrest of David Merino Quintana in Dubai on 1 June is not just another police anecdote: the Spaniard is identified as the man behind the largest cryptocurrency pyramid scheme under investigation in Spain. The FX Winning scheme operated without registration with the CNMV (Spain's securities regulator), and although Merino formally left the company in 2021, the investigation places him at the helm from the shadows.

The extradition timeline

Spain has between 15 and 40 days to send the necessary documentation to the United Arab Emirates. The arrest puts an end to years on the run: the judge had already located him in the Gulf country. Merino now faces possible deportation from the Emirates to Spain.

Greed, financial ignorance or impunity

Among the readings circulating, two positions clash: the one that defines the victims as greedy investors chasing magical returns, and the one that highlights the lack of basic financial literacy: putting money into an unregistered outfit that is not supervised by the CNMV should not be an act of faith. There is also a third reading, that of the sense of impunity: that certainty that "nothing ever happens" that fuels this kind of scheme. The curious thing is the contrast: a society that distrusts banks, governments and journalists deposits its money with anonymous websites promising to multiply it.

With extradition up in the air, the open question is whether this case will be the exception that breaks the rule of impunity, or whether the next fly-by-night operation is already signing up the same suckers.