SPAIN — International porn star and Evil Angel producer Nacho Vidal is facing flight of capital and tax evasion charges following his arrest in Barcelona on Tuesday for an alleged connection to Chinese organized crime.
Spanish police raided on Tuesday 120 businesses in Madrid and Barcelona suspected of running money-laundering and tax evasion rackets in connection with the Chinese mob. Among the 84 people arrested were Vidal and his sister María José Jordá González.
Jaqueline Castillo of IFG International Film Group, distributors for Evil Angel in Spain, confirmed to XBIZ this morning that Vidal's movie studio Nacho Vidal Productions had been implicated in the Spanish National Court led sting and charged with counts of flight of capital and tax evasion.
Vidal was arrested Tuesday morning at his home. He was released Thursday on his own recognizance by National Court judge Fernando Andreu.
González remains in custody and is awaiting bail, which Castillo said will be paid today.
"This is all a mistake because [Vidal] knows nothing," Castillo told XBIZ. "Of course, he professes his innocence, but we don't know if he will fight back because his sister is in the middle."
The stings in Madrid and Barcelona come after a two-year investigation by the National Court into Spanish businesses serving as fronts for Chinese money-laundering operations. The crackdown, named Operación Emperador (Operation Emperor), is reported to be the Spanish National Court's biggest to date.
