Reported by: Barney Jopson in Madrid and Jude Webber in Dublin

Spanish police have arrested a man they say is one of Europe’s biggest money launderers, the associate of a notorious Irish gang who used a sham vodka brand and underground banking to process up to €350,000 a day of dirty funds.

The authorities did not name the ringleader who was detained, but Europol said he had been designated by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in April for providing support to Ireland’s Kinahan clan, one of Europe’s most notorious crime syndicates.

He was the first person to be arrested since the US measures were announced. They targeted seven individuals, including cartel boss the “Dapper Don” Christy Kinahan, and his sons Daniel and Christopher Jr, who are based in Dubai.

The US accused the Kinahans of smuggling narcotics into Europe and engaging in money laundering, frequently using Dubai as “a facilitation hub for its illicit activities”. It offered a reward of $5mn for information that could disrupt the clan’s activities.

Read full report: https://www.ft.com/content/0b08a448-0e83-4e3d-9ab2-9f5b9976daed