THIS FILM IS BASED ON TRUE EVENTS
FOR LEGAL PURPOSES, MANY OF THE CHARACTERS ARE FICTIONAL
ANY RESEMBLANCE TO REAL PEOPLE OR EVENTS IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL
FUCKING COINCIDENTAL
My name
is Iván Márquez.
I was born in Vallecas,
and I just turned thirty a few days ago.
What's a guy from Vallecas
doing in a container that just traveled from Spain
to Hong Kong
carrying one point fifty-five billion euros?
One point fifty-five billion.
And my commission as the courier was three percent.
Do you have any fucking idea what three percent of that is?
That was back in twenty-ten,
when I was in the prime of my life.
Life can be wonderful.
But there's always someone looking to fuck it all up.
THE COURIER
Hello.
Thank you, sir.
NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT UNDER CONSTRUCTION
WE GIVE YOUR DREAMS THE GREEN LIGHT
The Argentinian population,
whose buying power is in decline,
You think these sons of bitches are gonna compensate anybody?
Have now had their assets frozen in banks and cannot withdraw their money.
Huh? Nah, you'll see… don't count on it.
The assets were frozen and collected
-by the state. -Hey.
-Well, look who's here. -Government spending
-continues to exceed its income. -The king of the mambo.
Individuals
and small businesses
-How are you, honey? How was your day? -I'm good.
Yeah?
Yeah, A thousand pesetas in tips just now.
-Man… That's ridiculous. -Come on…
-Your father really misses you. -Of course they're gonna have to steal, I
mean, whatever they have to do to survive. Come on.
That was the tipping point for most of the population.
Yeah, I just have other plans.
What they're doing to us here is completely inhumane!
-Yeah. -Absolutely insane.
-Argentina! -And that's what hurts him.
Argentina!
There was a time
when my dad was my hero.
I'll never forget the day he took me along to get a loan for the wedding and banquet
venue that he had always dreamed of opening one day.
That was back in ninety-two.
That's right,
the year of the Barcelona Olympics and the Seville Expo.
That was a year of plenty.
…One chorizo steak and pork rinds.
Would you like some wine?
And my dad
took full advantage of it.
Until the lean years came along.
The economic recession of ninety-three.
A national debt of thirty trillion pesetas.
An unemployment rate of twenty-five percent.
I don't fucking care, get the fucking cops!
Get them over here!
Let them cuff me!
This is bullshit!
It's bullshit, god damn it!
His only option is to bow out gracefully.
Look at him.
-Look. -Resign, Mister González.
-What a bunch of crooks! -As long as you remain in government,
Look at them!
-Stealing is all they know! -The corruption
scandals will not be resolved,
-They're thieves, for fuck's sake. -the prestige of our
-country will not be restored, -They're thieves!
-They show up, steal, -Democratic stability
-will be more precarious, -stuff their pockets full,
and then do it again.
And the citizens' trust will be further diminished.
-Motherfuckers! -Do not deny Spain…
-its opportunity. -Listen closely, it's the
business plan of the year.
Oh boy, here we go again.
Listen,
we buy a shitty ass apartment.
Then we remodel it.
And who's gonna do it?
You and your cousin work in construction, right?
It's on you.
No way.
So once it's remodeled,
we resell it
and then we all split the profit.
You're nuts.
-Why? -He's right.
-I can't with all these schemes. -Yeah.
Haven't you seen the prices?
They're going up through the roof.
We'll profit for sure.
Where the fuck do we get the cash for that, though?
-Tell me. -From a bank.
Uhh…
Just like that?
Trust me, banks are handing out credit to anyone.
-Here we go. -I don't know, dude.
-Sounds like trouble, Iván. -He's right.
Oh.
Wait, guys,
-how much is fifty euros? -Gimme that.
I'll pay in pesetas, I still have some left.
It's
-ten euros each. -Here.
Or
How much?
A thousand six hundred and sixty pesetas.
Uh… they're screwing us over.
-Two thousand two, -This used to cost…
nine-hundred and something a few days ago.
The year we went from the peseta
to the euro.
Easily
one of history's biggest rip-offs.
Hey, check out Mister Linares. He's hammered.
-If you'll excuse me… -You know that guy?
That guy?
-He lives in Brussels, he's in Parliament. -I was never the brightest kid in class,
but sometimes,
-I do have some good ideas. -I got it.
Gimme the keys, kid.
Gimme the keys.
Maybe I should just call a taxi.
No need for that.
I'm perfectly fine.
Hurry up, c'mon, I gotta be in Brussels by nine.
If you want, I could drive you to the airport.
Airport…?
Hey, careful.
I haven't been on a plane in twenty years.
You can't drive like this.
Okay? Come on.
Come on. That's it.
Give me the keys.
Look,
for three hundred euros, I'll drive you to Brussels myself.
If we make it there in time for me to take a shower,
then I'll give you five.
It's a deal.
BRUSSELS
You're late.
I know.
-I'm sorry. -Who's that?
Ah.
You're always late. This is the last time, all right?
Get in!
Here you go.
Just three hundred? I was speeding like crazy.
But I didn't have time to shower, did I?
That's right.
Now you go catch a bus, get the fuck out of here.
You know that one moment in life that can change everything forever?
Well, that was mine.
That guy's a disaster.
Look, I don't know what sort of business you're running, but…
I know I could do better than that guy.
Did you know he's stealing from you?
Are you sure?
A hundred percent.
Wait here.
He's right.
He's stealing from us.
You were right.
What's your name?
Iván Márquez.
What do you do for a living?
I'm good at driving.
And I'm trustworthy.
Not like that bastard.
Wanna make ten thousand euros Ivan?
Of course.
That Linares guy was a damn mess.
And I'm a very curious guy
who loves money.
Good morning.
Happy birthday, sweetheart.
Do you like it?
I love her.
Hey…
Hi there.
How long have you been working for Anne?
It's my first trip, for her.
Carabanchel.
Vallecas.
Yeah, Vallecas.
My first business was a copy center in Puente de Vallecas.
Copy center huh? Couldn't have been that bad.
Not if you're smart.
Look, in ninety-five,
a uh…
journalist came in with a dossier to photocopy.
I saw what it was about but didn't say anything.
A couple of hours later,
I went to visit the city planning chairman,
and told him what was coming his way.
The guy was stunned.
He didn't even know me, but there I was,
providing him with information that could save his ass.
That's how I earned his trust.
Those guys you see there,
they all
trust me.
Because trust is what's most important.
Can I trust you?
Absolutely.
Kid,
fortune
favors those who are serious,
discreet,
and hardworking.
You've just described me, sir.
So how is he?
She's a mare.
Ten thousand euros for a roundtrip from Brussels to Madrid.
The deal
of the century.
But nothing's ever that simple.
Good evening. Police.
Car papers?
Uh, no…
French?
Dutch?
Español?
English?
-Yeah, English please. -Yeah?
License and registration.
Sure.
Is this your car?
Uhhh… no.
No, no. It's
a friend of mine's.
Open the trunk, will you?
Why?
The trunk, I said open it now.
Is this also your friend's?
Uhh, no.
No, no. It's…
I-- I just uh…
sold my apartment in Madrid,
because I wanna set up a…
business here in Brussels.
Mhm.
And why a suitcase full of cash?
You don't trust banks?
You heard about Argentina?
The banks are actually taking everyone's…
savings.
I'm leaving.
And I'm going home.
Or I'm gonna call the Spanish consulate.
Come on, let's go.
That's it?
That easy?
Nah…
Those bastards were testing me.
That's when I realized I was getting myself into something
really big.
They went a bit too far.
Yeah.
Those police officers actually work for our organization.
Hey,
I thought you trusted me.
I do now, a hundred percent.
I gave you some extra cash,
so you can buy yourself some new clothes.
Your image is very important.
We should celebrate, right?
Merci, Antoine.
Mezcal.
It comes with a worm.
Mmmm…
You know, I lived in Mexico…
For two years. My parents were diplomats.
I spent most of my life going from one country to another.
Well, this is the first time I've left Vallecas.
That night was pure magic.
What did he say?
No more bets.
Yeah!
Mhm. Yep.
All on twenty-three.
Are you sure?
No risk. no reward.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on…
Yes!
Pure fucking magic.
Iván,
I'd like to introduce François,
my husband.
François Letissier.
The son of a diamond smuggler,
exchange broker,
currency trafficking middleman,
and a fucking asshole.
Come with us.
That was the day that I became
a Belgian courier.
I was making tons of money
driving luxury cars,
and the job was pretty easy, if I'm being honest.
Francisco Escámez.
His friends called him Paco.
He would hand me briefcases full of money, and I would take them to Belgium.
Why Belgium?
Because it's one of the havens for diamond trafficking.
And because it's one of the countries with the highest number of
banking transactions in the world.
And also because only two inspectors control the country's entire banking
system.
A fake diamond transaction was made there in order to launder the money.
And after that,
the money was sent to our clients' accounts in Switzerland.
The dirty money
turns into clean money.
But where was all that cash coming from?
Another.
Paco Escámez was known as Mr. 3%.
He was the link between the Belgian scheme and the Spanish clients.
That bastard rubbed shoulders with businessmen, bankers, politicians,
construction companies…
and he got them all working together.
Some of them rezoned state land and approved urban development plans.
Others granted loans at really low interest rates.
And then others… built housing developments and malls on that rezoned
land.
And together,
they divvied up the inflated costs and commissions.
Paid under the table, obviously, to avoid leaving a trail.
Escámez collected all that money
and sent it to Belgium,
charging his 3% commission.
But who was actually paying for all that?
TAX RETURN
The same chumps as always:
taxpayers.
Lourdes, we're running out of ham.
Have you named her?
The mare.
It's a male.
Hm.
For racing or jumping?
He's a stallion.
What a coincidence, me too.
-Oh yeah? -Sweetie,
tell the folks we're leaving in half an hour, will ya?
Okay.
Don't you dare.
-Work and discretion. -I mean it.
Here.
Some advice for you:
Go see a dentist.
A smile is everything.
Okay.
GENEVA
Swiss punctuality.
What are we doing here?
There are some things that are changing,
Belgium's no longer safe,
and our partner is here now.
How much?
Fourteen million.
Wow.
The Spanish miracle.
It's so insane.
Even all my neighborhood friends are applying for loans to buy apartments.
The more construction work,
the more dirty money.
Champagne.
-Just so you know, you're a bastard. -No, no, no.
Okay, come on.
-Shall we? -Yeah, let's go.
Great, but we'll go together, okay?
-Why is it you Spaniards talk so loudly? -Gimme a sec to pay the check, okay?
You'll be paying a lot more than that, y'know?
C'mon…
Unlikely couple, don't you think so?
What he's got inside his briefcase
makes everything likely.
Well,
let's focus on our business.
I'll go with you.
It's fourteen million.
I want to learn.
Perfect.
-Good morning, Ms. Duprees. -Good morning.
You look lovely, as usual.
Ivan, Allow me to introduce you
to our partner,
Mister Stoffel.
Shall we go?
Mister Stoffel,
with the help of an IT specialist,
had created the perfect system in his local branch office.
-Allow me to explain this to you. -Together, they laundered money
-while doing parrallel bookkeeping. -Now then, as you can see,
we use euros
in Spain
to buy diamonds.
We sell them in dollars and keep that in Switzerland.
It doesn't matter where the money comes from.
That's why we're gonna be buying diamonds.
So you could say it carries no risk.
At all.
So
these diamonds
are just small stones to our clients,
but a huge opportunity for the bank.
By doing so,
they could carry out all sorts of transactions,
steering clear of their bosses, and staying out of any potential
judicial investigation.
All while getting their 3% commission,
of course.
-…In charge of financial assets -No way, mom, I can't, I'm sorry.
-Both from abroad and from Spain. -Well, I'm up to my neck in work.
And
it's not just about the business. I'm also very proud to announce to all of you,
-as uh… -Mhm. Yeah, when I- when I get a
break, I'll come home. Okay? I promise.
Urban planning councilor of Marbella, that we're about to start
Hey, Mom, I gotta go, okay?
-Yeah, love you too. Yeah, yeah. Bye. -The, uh, construction of a
new luxury home center soon.
And… it will…
be on municipal land that
didn't…
have any uh… other use.
Uh, -of course, none of this would have been possible without the support of my
wife, María "Ríta" Fernández. -Like I said,
-I was never the brightest kid in class, -Her support single-handedly
-made all of this possible-- -but I do have some good ideas.
Son of a bitch.
All I needed was just a little patience.
You think we can try it out?
Hey…
-stop it, please. -Uh, okay.
If you keep talking about it, I'll walk away without looking back.
-Yeah… Ooooh -Okay, okay, just
listen to me… listen to me.
-Can I get you anything? -I don't wanna see it, I just want some--
Umm-
one espresso.
Indulge me.
Oh my god, you're so annoying sometimes, you know that?
It's just… hey, it's just something I wanna try.
What?
You know… it's just something I've thought about trying out, and I've never had the
guts to do it.
-What are you up to, buddy? -Easy, easy now.
Huh?
You've been here for days. What do you want?
Hm?
Check my backpack.
-Where? -There,
in the small one.
Ten thousand euros.
It's yours if you want it.
Okay, so what next?
It's a business matter, okay?
I have to install some cameras in the room.
Fine, but I'm doing it.
You stay out here.
We'll talk later.
Look, if you don't want me to get upset, then you could at least have the courtesy
to take your ring off when you're with me.
-Take it easy. Look, -We'll talk in the room.
I mean, you're impossible, you know that?
Uh, are you, uh… Spanish?
No, we're Japanese, honey.
I, uhh…
Listen, uh, do you have a cigarette?
I can't buy them anywhere.
Right.
And with that face, you're not used to hearing no, are you?
How many?
Just one's fine.
Here you go, handsome.
Thanks a lot.
Alright. You guys have fun.
Oh we will, honey.
Okay… come on… you could at least try to be discrete, couldn't you? I mean, I'm
standing right here.
Oh, are you jealous? Are you? Are you upset? 'Cause you didn't seem upset when
it was the--
Holy shit.
Yannick.
Iván.
You're not from around here, are you?
I grew up in Madrid.
No kidding. Where?
Carabanchel.
Vallecas.
How much are you gonna ask for it?
I'm not gonna ask him for money.
Well, I will, but…
but in a different way.
Do you need a partner?
Yannick
wasn't the brightest kid in class either.
But he had some skills.
He handled his problems without hesitation.
He had friends everywhere.
Especially in Madrid's nightlife scene.
He spoke several languages
and he was the king of the party.
The king of the fucking party.
BRUSSELS
I know, Mom, yeah.
I know, but I just don't…
I don't have a choice, okay?
Okay.
All right, I'll try.
Sure, love you.
Fuck.
She keeps asking me when I'll go see her and my dad.
Take some days off then, if you need.
You sure?
It'll be a week, tops.
Don't worry about it.
Family is very important.
What do you think?
That watch doesn't say
anything good about you.
What do you mean?
For me?
Yeah.
A person's watch and a person's shoes
say everything about who they are.
So, happy birthday.
I love it.
Obviously,
I had better things to do than visit my parents.
Good afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon.
Where's Mister Ocaña?
Let me see…
-he's right over there, sir. -Okay, thanks.
No way… I mean, still.
It's not really a thing.
We have a gift for you. It's a surprise.
This way, please.
Yeah, that's fine.
Let's see what Mohammed has for me.
-Nothing like a few words in French -No problem.
To catch a Spanish bumpkin.
And you're sure you have something for me?
Just making sure you don't have the wrong guy, you know?
Uhhh, alright,
kids.
Uh, alright.
Uhh…
don't make your lives harder.
This is illegal.
I'm gonna have to call the police.
-Are you sure? -I mean…
Cause I doubt your wife and daughter wanna see this.
I don't think you want your friends to either.
What do you want?
-Information. -You got put up to this.
-You both journalists then? -We're not journalists.
We move money from Spain into Switzerland.
And now we want to open a branch.
Here, in Marbella.
But we need contacts.
Wow!
That's so nice!
I'll teach you how to rollerblade!
That's lovely.
Um…
okay.
Uh…
I'll explain a little bit about…
about how all this works, okay?
Uh…
So… uh…
no one, and I mean,
no one,
will trust their savings
to a couple of strangers, they won't.
Well, it turns out we're not gonna be strangers are we?
Because you're gonna make sure they know who we are.
Marbella.
Up until the sixties, it was just a village of fishermen and tradesmen.
And then the foreign tourists arrived.
Money.
Real estate development.
And more foreign tourists.
And more money.
And more real estate development.
Then, the jet set arrived.
And then…
he arrived.
This is all I have.
I never spend it, actually.
Someone always gets the check for me. It's, uh,
always the same.
That fat guy over there
is the city planning councilor.
The
scrawny one
is the health councilor.
That tall guy is a real estate developer.
His nickname is "Insatiable
Plonker".
Okay?
Uh… so what happens with the video now?
Well Introduce me first.
To all of them.
Come on.
Gentlemen,
I'd like to introduce you to my nephew Iván and his business partner Yannick.
Yeah. He's real good with numbers.
Even as a kid, he would always beat us at Monopoly.
The little bastard.
Right?
Yeah…
anyway, yeah, I just thought maybe you all should--
I wasn't aware of it back then,
but that party was being watched by my future friends,
the folks from the Financial and Fiscal Crimes Unit.
And that kid, Lucía?
Who's that kid?
I have no idea,
but I'm gonna look into it.
That
-Great. -was the first time I caught the attention
of Head Inspector Roig.
So, what we're offering
is professionalism,
discretion,
security,
and, most importantly,
immediate access to… the money.
Everything you're saying is great.
But we've spent many years working with Escámez
We've never had any issues. And…
well…
it's obvious…
we don't know who you are.
Uh…
sure, sure.
Obviously, I mean…
you don't know him.
Sure.
Tr- Truth is, no one
knows this guy. That's it.
That's exactly why Iván's offer sounds prudent to me.
Well, plus, you know, discretion and prudence don't seem
to be Escámez's
virtues anymore, if I may say so.
Uh… okay.
Come on guys.
God damn it. He's my nephew.
He's trustworthy.
I would bet my life on him.
And not only that, even my money.
Ah… eh…
gentlemen, listen. I need a guy who inspires trust, because I'm taking risks
here,
you know?
I mean real risks.
Uh… and everybody wants… to suckle at the teat.
"Ocaña, can you please rezone this land?"
"Okay."
"Ocaña, the city planning project."
"Okay."
"Ocaña, a little golf course."
Well, fuck.
Ah, fuck.
And you know I have no issues with it. Whatever you want--
But my way.
My guys,
my team, my family.
I mean, immediate access to the money in twenty-four hours. What more do you want?
Folks, uh…
we're doing fine.
We're doing fucking great.
And we can do better.
But we need to have faith.
We need faith.
GENEVA
That's a gold mine, y'know?
What about Escámez?
I don't think he'll like you stealing his clients.
Don't worry about Escámez.
There's enough for both of us.
Besides, we won't bother any of his clients.
I promise you.
You're a pretty fast learner.
I have the best teacher.
Leaving already?
Yeah.
François is expecting me.
Christmas with family.
Don't go.
Stay here with me.
Are you always such a high roller?
I want everything.
Well, I'm sorry.
I have to go.
This is
for you.
And this
is for you too.
And this is…
for you, Pop.
What did you say you do for a living?
I work with some people in Brussels.
We import and we export.
And what do you import?
We have all sorts of clients.
We handle financial products.
In short, we move money.
Come on.
You sound like one of those politicians on TV.
You talked a lot,
but didn't say anything.
Well, I'm doing amazing alright?
You seen my Porsche parked out front?
And check my watch out.
I don't know what you're up to, son,
but easy money?
I'm telling ya, that means trouble.
It's the opposite of trouble.
Money is the solution to all kinds of trouble.
You think you're so clever, don't you?
Smart people make laws so they can be above them, clever guys end up in jail.
Well, I'd rather end up in jail
than end up like you.
All fucking day, sitting there, complaining and cursing at the TV!
You show some respect.
I've never stolen a thing from anyone.
-I've always done honest work. -And what did that do for you?
What did that do for you, huh?
At least I can sleep well at night.
-With a clear conscience. -I'm not interested in sleep.
I'd rather live my life.
-You'll regret it at some point. -That's enough, stop it.
Well…
He gets on my nerves!
I love it, honey. Thank you so much.
Well, well.
Look who's here.
What's up?
What's with the car?
You know.
Hey, man.
What's up, Iván? Well, I mean…
Don Iván.
Climbing up, huh?
Nice.
What about you guys?
We're here
in the neighborhood, as always.
We're flipping houses.
We apply for loans, buy old apartments, remodel them,
then sell them for double the price.
Fuck yeah, you listened to me.
Nice.
It's yours?
What does it say?
EL HUESO CONSTRUCTION
That's great, brother.
Days of plenty.
Real estate development was the solution to all the problems.
And everybody seemed thrilled about it.
Not even the worst terrorist attack in Spain's history,
nor a government turnover,
-was enough to change that. -And I promise you
that power
won't change me.
Heaps of dirty money kept flowing in.
His name is Iván Márquez.
He's from Madrid, neighborhood of Vallecas.
He used to work as a valet in a golf club.
Criminal record?
None.
A clean past.
And what's a valet got to do with all this, huh?
Apparently, he's Ocaña's go-to guy for any business in the area.
He's always with that Moroccan guy.
There's always some guy working as a valet trying to make some easy money.
What we're offering you here is discretion,
security,
and most importantly,
immediate access to the money.
Any amount you need in less than twenty-four hours.
Your identities will be protected.
-Escamez. I'm good. -Chechu.
What's up?
-How are ya? -And your money, will be too.
How's everything?
Not many spots left, okay?
So uhh…
I don't know if you heard, but the situation is critical.
Think about it.
Yes, so I've been told.
We'll need to discuss it, right?
Mhm.
-What are you doing here? -Hm.
What about you?
Mm, you know.
I'm here.
You look different.
Well, thanks.
You look… as pretty as always.
My dad tells me you're doing really well.
-Huh? -Yeah.
I'm trying out the solo path, and it's not bad.
He plays for Hércules, doesn't he?
Real Madrid.
You're a top division girl.
I'm picky, I guess.
I'm in the top division now.
Guess you are.
Iván.
What a surprise.
It's been a while.
-How are you? -I'm fine.
You finally fixed your teeth.
Well done.
Look, Francisco, uh, I can explain.
No no no, don't worry. There's nothing to explain.
It's-
It's simple, really.
All this money you're earning now
is money I'm losing.
And I do understand supply and demand, but it turns out that I don't like
competition.
You've interfered with my clients, so now
you'll face the consequences.
You okay?
I'm great.
Come on.
Forget it, Iván.
That piece of ass will only bring you trouble.
You need a chick from the hood.
The hood sucks, Yannick.
The only good thing about growing up there is--
Is knowing when to leave.
-Exactly. -I don't get what you see
in that stupid rich girl.
-Everything. -Yeah.
You just always want what you can't have.
Moron.
What the hell are you doing?
What's going on? Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!
Okay okay okay, take it--
Be smart, kids.
And leave Marbella.
You okay?
Are you?
There you go.
Come on.
We were in over our heads.
So we needed to change our strategy.
Well, I do have to admit that you two have balls.
How are your injuries?
Better.
Any broken bones?
Those are the rules of the game.
We know.
So then,
what exactly don't you understand here?
We're not leaving Marbella.
But listen,
Don Francisco,
Costa del Sol is a fucking paradise.
We all know that.
We also know that nobody enters paradise without talking to Saint Peter.
Go on.
We won't mess with your clients.
They're yours.
Very good. Go on.
And as for any clients of our own,
we'll give you a ten percent cut.
A thirty percent cut.
Twenty.
Thirty percent for the first two years,
and then twenty percent each year after that.
Deal.
Saint Peter rules paradise.
Nicely played, kid.
One more thing.
Stay
away from my daughter.
Life can be wonderful.
Here we go again.
And again.
Forget it, babe.
He can't even get it up.
What are you doing here?
I need to speak with you.
It's messy here, sorry.
We had a little party last night.
What's up?
Look, I'm not your boss, so I'm not telling you what to do here, alright?
But I think you should slow down a bit.
This is starting to impact our business, and you know it.
Don't fucking start.
Don't start.
I'm bringing in more money than anyone.
You should be building me a fucking monument.
Leave me the fuck alone!
I'm sorry, okay?
I'm sorry.
Iván…
Money is the best thing in the world,
but it can also be very dangerous.
What should I do?
Start saving up?
Buy a house? Find me a girlfriend?
François
has just received a tip-off.
There's an investigation underway.
The police are after Escámez,
but all of us who've been working close to him
could be facing major problems.
Holy shit.
We have to take care of our business, Iván.
Hmm?
Thanks for the heads-up.
You're leaving?
Yes, I am.
Stay for a while.
Take care.
For fuck's sake.
Where's the fucking wire?
Fuck, fuck.
What're you doing? You're gonna break your neck.
That fucking gray car is following us.
What car?
Don't look back.
I'm telling you, that motherfucker's following us.
You're paranoid, Iván.
-I'm not paranoid. -Yeah, you're paranoid. Look,
I'm not.
We were invited to the party of the year.
Hmm?
The crème de la crème, Iván. Relax,
okay?
Okay.
The Central Market party was the event of the year.
It cost a fortune.
But why not spend a little more taxpayer money to put Costa del Sol on the map?
We should reallly meet this week, Iván.
-Ah, look. -You can count on it.
Iván, c'mere, c'mere.
Let me introduce you to-- What's up, Yannick, bud?
Look, let me introduce you to Carmen,
Málaga's deputy mayor,
okay? Manolo,
Environment.
-And Antonio, Industry in Seville. -Nice to meet you.
His wife… wait, wait, wait…
Joana! Joana, Joana.
Huh? This is my boy.
My nephew, he's the man.
Wow.
This almost feels like destiny, doesn't it?
Don't you ever stop?
We should befriend even the devil himself.
You think so?
If he's got money, yeah.
When are we going out?
My dad would kill me.
No way, c'mon.
-He loves you. -It's true.
He would kill you.
Y'know, I don't think so.
I'm adding a lot to his fortune.
Mm?
Give me your hand.
Call me sometime
and take me out to dinner somewhere special.
Life's treating me well, my friend.
What about her dad?
What?
What…
You don't remember what he told you?
Yeah, of course I do.
Come fucking on, Iván.
Huh?
You want his guys to come after us?
Shh. Look who's there.
Huh? Who was right?
-I'll go talk to them. -What're you doing?
Iván.
Hey, I wanna talk to your boss.
We'll follow you, okay?
Inspector.
Good morning. Come closer, please.
First of all, thanks a lot for making yourselves available. You're Iván. You're
Yannick.
I'm Inspector Manuel Roig,
and I'm the one in charge of this investigation. The main reason we asked
-you two-- -Wait, wh- wh- what investigation?
Of course, you two don't have a clue what this is about.
No,
truth is, we don't.
We don't know anything.
And we don't get why you're following us.
I'll explain it to ya, we've been following you because we're pretty sure
that…
the two of you have been doing business with Ocaña
and also Escámez.
And why is that bad?
You're insulting my intelligence, don't play stupid with me. You know perfectly
well what they do.
-No. -No?
-No, we don't know what they do. -Mm.
Look,
we just do public relations.
Our job involves planning parties, big events…
We work with a lot of people, okay?
Well, that's a shame, Iván.
It's a shame, it really is, because in this field you're in, pawns like you end
up in jail, whereas they, the bosses, these guys you work for, get away with it.
In this case, though,
and only in this specific case, things could possibly have a different outcome
for the two of you. If you're willing to help me out then, I'll be able to help
you.
We're couriers.
We drive bags back and forth.
But we don't know what's inside.
It's none of our business.
Well let me explain it to you.
You're couriers in foreign currency trafficking and money laundering.
And that makes you a criminal organization, which is punishable by eight
to ten years in prison.
Now…
You two specifically would serve a third of that sentence.
You.
Can you imagine
what it's like to spend…
three years
in a cell?
It's either you,
their little pawns…
or it's the bosses.
It's your decision, because if it were up to me,
you would all end up in prison.
What do you want?
What the hell do you idiots think I want?
And what do we get in return?
A second chance, and I suggest that you make the most of it.
POLICE PRECINCT
Don't think about it, okay?
It was either them or us.
We're screwed, Iván.
Tell me,
why are we screwed?
Don't you see? When they arrest that son of a bitch Escámez,
the business will be ours.
Yeah, and once he finds out what we did, he'll come after us.
He doesn't need to find out.
Don't you get it, Iván?
What's he gonna think when he gets arrested and we don't?
Hm?
Good luck to you, partner.
Gimme a hug, bro.
Come on.
Hey best of luck to you.
Take care.
The only solution was to get out of the country.
All I needed
was a good excuse.
-Hello? -Leti,
do you like surprises?
I love surprises.
Then grab your passport.
Wow.
Is this for real?
You know the good stuff, huh?
Hey,
I'm sorry, I just, uh, I didn't see your calls earlier.
-I'm in Paris. -Leticia told her dad
that she was with me.
I know, dad, but the thing is…
She said she was old enough to make her own decisions
you know I'm old enough to make my own decisions now, alright?
And that we were going to travel around Europe for a few weeks.
Yeah.
We're gonna travel around for a little bit, that's it.
It was the perfect cover. That way Escámez wouldn't get suspicious when he
got arrested and I didn't.
Was he pissed off?
A little,
but, uh,
I told him I'm old enough to make my own decisions.
Is this for me?
Open it.
Do you like it?
Mmmm.
I love it.
-It's super, super beautiful. -Flights,
hotels,
gifts…
Wow.
-That alibi was costing me a fortune. -Oh my gosh.
BRUSSELS
-The money was going fast. -Come on!
Come on.
-Come on. -But what the hell?
-What's money for if not for spending? -That's where it's at.
Mhm.
Iván?
Nice to see you.
Right back at you.
And you must be Leticia.
Mhm. Nice to meet you.
You make
a beautiful couple.
-Thanks. -Really?
How's Don Francisco?
You know, the usual… super busy.
I bet he's really happy.
With you and Ivan being together.
Hm.
Hm?
What is he doing here?
She's pretty.
She must've been stunning back in the day,
right?
I think she still is, don't you?
We were having a great time.
And I was just waiting for everything to blow up.
Then finally,
Head Inspector Roig
launched Operation Malaya,
which uncovered city planning corruption in Spain,
starting with Marbella City Hall.
Dozens were taken into custody, and hundreds of millions in assets seized.
…During their twelve years of government, there were cranes crowding the Marbella
skyline.
Thirteen thousand projects a year
which, according to opposition and business owners,
weren't properly carried out with enough supporting services or infrastructure,
ultimately causing the collapse
of one of the main tourist destinations in Spain.
Leti.
The scheme started in two thousand and five,
-Hey. -I have to go back to Madrid.
Led by the same man, Juan Antonio Roca,
and a team formed by the Tax Agency Police, and the Anti-Corruption
-Prosecutor's Office. -I can't go with you.
You know that, right?
-I know. -They had come together in Madrid to
strategize and investigate both the structure
and the modus operandis of the schemers.
The people in custody are the former Urban Planning advisor and alleged
-mastermind of the plot, -Behave yourself, okay?
Juan Antonio Roca,
the Mayor,
Sol Yagüe, and the Deputy Mayor,
Isabel García Marcos.
Operation Malaya has raised all kinds of questions about how it's possible to set
-up such a complex corruption scheme -With Leticia back home,
I could get back into the game.
Without setting off any alarms or raising any suspicion within the
-administrative powers. -It was time to raise the stakes.
What happened to Escámez is fucked up,
but we
are totally fine,
because I can take care of his clients.
I know them all.
I'll just save his share for him, that's it.
He says he can take care of his clients while Escámez is in prison.
The pawn wants to become king.
What did he say?
Look, we have to disappear for a little bit, Iván.
-Just until things cool down. -Yeah and what about all the money that's
supposed to get to Switzerland, what about that?
The economy has its cycles, my friend.
The party is over.
Now it's time to collect our earnings and wait for the storm to pass.
He said that hard times are coming for us.
The bubble…
is about…
to burst, Iván.
Europe's going to turn off the tap
while the financial crisis lasts.
What crisis?
They're building now more than ever. I mean Banks are throwing credit at
-everyone. -Right, precisely.
We have to disappear for a while, alright?
-Trust me on this. -Okay, sure,
maybe I should've listened to her.
But I still had some cash left,
and I was good to go back to Madrid.
So, I called Yannick.
-Ahhhhh! -Ahhhhh!
The king
of the party.
And the party lasted
as long as the money did.
What the hell are you doing in Madrid?
Asshole.
Hey, Mom.
Iván,
your father passed away.
No job,
no money,
no cocaine,
and carrying the guilt of not being there when my dad died.
There was only one thing I could do…
go back home.
I'm so sorry, Mom.
I'm really sorry.
I'll give you some time alone with your dad.
François was right.
Hard times were coming.
We could say that the Spanish economy has just entered
the Champions League
of the world economy.
The first major economic crisis of the twenty-first century.
FOR SALE
The real estate bubble.
Lehman Brothers and all that crap.
The, uh…
circumstances are not going to
pose a significant impact
on the evolution of the Spanish
economy.
Except it did have an impact.
Very much so.
So
I'm in the yacht's bathroom,
and, while I'm pissing, I think,
"What is that?" A fucking Miró.
-No… -Are you serious?
-What? -Wow.
-For real. -Really?
-A Miró hanging on this guys wall. -That's insane.
Wow.
-Pretty high level stuff huh? -Mhm.
Hm.
-Mhm. -Totally.
Question for ya.
What about Pantoja?
Did you get to meet her?
How is it?
Pantoja, she's amazing.
-She really is. -I knew it.
And so is Julián.
Whoa.
That's insane.
-You should write a book, you know? -Mhm.
I just might.
-I should be in it. -That's right.
-All of us. -Guys, let's toast,
All of us should.
To Iván,
-back in the neighborhood. -To Iván!
To Iván. Salud!
-So good to see you, bro. -Yeah.
Mm.
Sergio, can I borrow your car?
What for?
-Hm? -Where you going?
Coincidence,
destiny…
Who cares?
What matters is,
my instincts were telling me that this was a business opportunity,
and I
wasn't going to miss it.
I'll break all of your bones
if I ever see your face again.
Understood?
Yep, completely understood.
His name is Yao Ming.
I met him when he wanted to buy land in Marbella.
Uh… what you're telling me about is just
chicken feed to Yao.
Do you know how many Chinese shops there are in Madrid?
Nah, just chicken feed.
But, uh, Yao Ming handles a shitload of dirty money,
but most of it isn't from that.
Where is it from?
Wholesale importation.
Uh… To pay less taxes,
when they're going through Customs.
They declare a value
much lower than what he actually
pays for the imported goods.
But there's an issue:
his suppliers in China
are getting paid the full price,
-right? -Mhm.
So
he has to send them
the rest of the money
in paper currency.
How do they do it?
The old-fashioned way.
They carry it on them,
or in suitcases with false bottoms, or attached to their bodies,
in toys, dolls… uh…
Some of them get caught,
but, y'know,
it's like with drugs. How should I put it…?
Maybe one gets caught,
but ten get away with it.
Hm.
And there's no shortage of Chinese.
So…
Anyway.
Look,
Yao Ming.
He's pretty god damn ambitious like us.
Like me and you.
So if you propose him a better system,
he'll hear you out
for sure.
You know what I'm getting at?
Thanks a lot.
Iván,
don't forget about me.
I have my mortgage to deal with
and my daughter's tuition.
Okay?
Mhm. Yeah, I got you.
Appreciate it.
Dirty money.
The magic words.
GENEVA
Iván.
You look great, I'm really happy to see you.
Thanks.
Right back at you.
Champagne?
Uh…
Water.
You serious?
How's everything?
What have you been up to the past few months?
Nothing to special.
And what is this important thing that you wanted to tell me?
I have a proposal for you.
Look, Yao Ming is handling
a lot of dirty money in Spain right now, you know?
Mhm.
And he's sending it to China via couriers.
Well…
C'mon…
things have
changed, I'm afraid.
Getting money into Switzerland is not
an option anymore.
It's all very controlled.
And because of the crisis,
now
cash is flowing
in the opposite direction.
As you can imagine our clients need cash,
and so we have to get it back to Spain.
I have a solution.
Anne
needed to get money from Switzerland into Spain,
and Yao Ming
needed to get it out.
The thing is, our clients
are trying to get their money out of Switzerland.
So our idea is:
we transfer that money over to China,
to your accounts,
and you pay us here in Spain in cash.
In exchange,
-we would receive our commission of 3%. -And how do I know you
won't keep my money?
Tell me your account number.
Tell him.
What do you say we start with three milion?
Three.
A sweet
deal.
Madame.
Young man.
Yannick.
What's up, brotha? How you doing?
No no no, listen to me, listen to me.
You listen.
I've come up with a hell of a business plan.
Yeah.
Yeah. Listen,
I could use a business partner.
Are you up for it?
Perfect.
Good evening.
Thank you, sir.
Life can be wonderful,
but there's always some asshole looking to fuck it all up.
Oh boy, what a surprise.
Paco.
How are you?
I'm good, good. Really good.
In fact, we're here to celebrate, the judge dismissed the charges.
Oh.
What about you, huh?
Rumor has it you're working with Yao Ming now.
Wow.
News travels fast, doesn't it?
Yeah.
Watch out, okay?
Can't trust those guys.
Well, although,
nowadays,
who can you trust?
Six months in jail,
a year and a half on probation…
Not a single visit, or a call, from you.
Paco.
We had to disappear.
Sure.
Well, I would've done the same.
But there is one thing that I would never do.
I would never rat anyone out.
-Fucking asshole. -Iván.
Don't. Back off.
-Back off. -Iván.
See that?
The kid from the hood has finally shown his true colors.
-Let's go. -Sure.
But Escámez wasn't the only bastard who wanted to screw me over.
The person who really did that
was someone I had only seen once.
Falciani.
The IT guy who worked for Stoffel.
Didn't he leave me any documents?
Hey. What's the matter?
Motherfucker! Look!
THE "FALCIANI LIST," A MASSIVE FRAUD
What is this?
Who's Falciani?
He just leaked an entire list of all of these secret bank accounts,
All of our clients are on it.
Okay, look Calm down,
have you spoken to Stoffel?
Stoffel and François took all the money and they ran off.
They'll come after us.
Iván.
We have to disappear.
Thanks.
You gotta be fucking kidding me.
-No, no. Please don't. -Come on, move it.
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!
-Get out of the car. -Go, go, go, go, go, go!
I said, let's go. Get in, hurry up. Go go go.
-Get in the car. -Okay, okay, okay.
Let's go! Drive, let's fucking go!
-Come on, come on. Move it. -This way.
Easy, easy.
Come on, let's go. Hurry up.
Move, you piece of shit.
Leave her alone! Anne, it's gonna be okay!
Sit down.
Yao.
What the fuck man? What is this?
The police are onto to us.
We have nothing to do with that, I swear.
I have informants in the police force.
I wanna know what you told the detective.
Yao,
we're friends for fuck's sake.
I didn't talk to them. Why would I?
They're gonna catch you sooner or later, Iván.
And I can't let you tell them what you know.
Look,
it doesn't matter
cause even if they catch me, I'm not gonna say
anything.
I won't say a word. I'm gonna be as silent as a tomb, alright?
Yeah sure,
a tomb. Like last time?
I told you, I have contacts within the police.
Fuck. That was different,
okay?
Escámez is a fucking son of a bitch.
That was the only way to get him off my back.
So you could save your own ass.
Well now I have to save my ass, too.
Kill him!
No, no, no. Don't, don't.
Wait.
Wait a second, okay? Listen to me, Yao.
What will you do with your money?
It won't be long before the cops find it all.
You gotta get your money out of Spain, and you have to do it
now.
Switzerland's out.
Yeah, I know that,
but there are other ways.
Alright?
Look,
I'll leave the country with the money,
okay? That way you won't have to worry about the money
or about me being caught.
I'm in your hands.
Is that right?
Okay.
I'm listening.
Great problems
call for great solutions.
Are you sure?
It's the only way to get Yao's cash out,
and to disappear at the same time.
Besides,
do you know how much three percent of one
point fifty-five billion is?
Yeah.
Forty-six point five million.
That's enough money for us to retire.
People like us don't retire.
Yeah.
But I mean, a little vacation would be awesome.
Iván Márquez.
This is an international warrant from the Spanish authorities. You
are under arrest.
And the party was over.
I want a lawyer.
Absolutely, of course you do.
That's your right, the law allows for it, and I'm sure that at this point you're
gonna have secured
one
hell of a lawyer, won't you, Ivan?
Yeah the best.
Well, you know, your sentence will, uh…
probably be around twenty years, and the best lawyer could get it down to about
let's say fifteen.
Look, let's make a deal.
When you're in prison, which should be soon enough, remember that you had your
chance to make a deal.
-No deals anymore, kid. -Okay.
One million euros.
One million euros in cash.
Can you guarantee the full amount in cash?
Of course.
You could buy a house.
And even a new car.
And maybe even send your kids to study abroad too.
Come on, Inspector.
That's a lot of money.
Come on, I'll never be anything like you.
There's no point in being so greedy. I don't need a whole bunch of money or stuff
to be happy with my life, to be content.
You sound just like my dad.
An honorable person, by the way. Make sure you tell him that for me.
Yeah well he's dead.
He was only sixty when he died.
He was penniless and said stupid shit just like you do.
If he'd had enough money,
then his life would've been pretty different.
Yours can be different still.
Well, we'll never know, Iván.
Unless I win the lottery, but unfortunately I never play the lottery.
I'll be out in forty-eight hours, you'll see.
Speaking of deals, how exactly do you think we found out about you being in Hong
Kong?
Who ratted me out?
It was Escámez, right?
Or was it Yao?
Who ratted me out?
The offer we made her,
was to pick either freedom or love.
That's bullshit.
You're a liar.
That's impossible.
Don't make that face, kid. You would've done the same thing.
COURTHOUSE
Roig was right.
I would've done the same.
Police!
So far, Operation Emperador has resulted in eighty arrests and a hundred and twenty
searches, targeting a corruption network that managed to launder up to one point
two billion euros in just four years.
Most of those implicated are immigrants of Chinese origin, along with
some Spaniards, including four public officials.
This is quite possibly the biggest anti-corruption operation that we've seen…
My father was right after all, the bastard.
Clever guys like me
end up in jail.
Do you regret any of what you've done?
Well, yeah.
Yeah, a bunch of things.
But you know what? Money's like…
money's like a virus.
Once it infects you, it's impossible to get over it.
In this case,
that virus was public money,
And it could have been used to build,
more schools, more hospitals, or to hire more nurses, hire more doctors…
It was taxpayer money.
Yeah.
But money corrupts us,
And a whole lot of money
means a whole lot of corruption.
Those who are accountable
are the ones… who should pay.
That's enough, thank you.
THE FRAUD OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR EXCEEDED 9 BILLION EUROS
THE "FALCIANI LIST" REVEALED 1.8 BILLION "SHADY" EUROS
BELONGING TO SPANIARDS IN SWITZERLAND
THE COUNTRY NEEDED A 58-BILLION-EURO BAILOUT FROM THE EU
THE NATIONAL DEBT TRIPLED
THE PSOE AND PP FAST-TRACKED A CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
TO PRIORIZE PAYMENT OF THE DEBT
Justice is the same for us all.
EVICTIONS ROSE
Deal with it, endure it,
and then just let it be.
THE VALUE OF ALL SPANIARDS' SAVINGS FELL AND INEQUALITY SKYROCKETED
THE COURIER