The Courier (2024) Movie Script
1
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
[edgy theme music playing]
[music continues]
My name is Ivn Mrquez.
I was born in Vallecas,
and I just turned thirty a few days ago.
[keys jangling]
[locks clicking]
[Ivn] What's a guy from Vallecas
doing in a container
that just traveled from Spain to Hong Kong
carrying 1.55 billion euros?
1.55 billion.
And my commission as the courier was 3%.
Do you have any fucking idea
what 3% of that is?
That was back in 2010
when I was in the prime of my life.
[music continues]
[party crowd cheering]
[Ivn] Life can be wonderful.
But there's always someone
looking to fuck it all up.
[helicopter flying overhead]
THE COURIER
Hello.
Thank you, sir.
[car door opens, closes]
[engine starts]
VALLECAS FOOTBALL FIELD
NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT UNDER CONSTRUCTION
[hip hop music playing through headphones]
[thunder rumbling]
WE GIVE YOUR DREAMS THE GREEN LIGH[on TV] The Argentinian population,
whose buying power...
You think these sons of bitches
are gonna compensate anybody? Huh?
- You'll see. Of course they won't.
- [entrance bell pings]
[on TV] The assets were frozen...
- by the state.
- Hey.
[man] Well, look who's here.
The king of the mambo.
[on TV] ...businesses have still
the high cost of taxes...
How are you, honey?
- How was your day? Yeah?
- I'm good.
- Yeah. 1,000 pesetas in tips just now.
- That's great.
[man grumbles]
- You could have made that here too, huh?
- [man scoffs]
Come on.
Your father really misses you.
[father] Of course they steal. I mean,
whatever they have to do to survive.
Come on.
Yeah.
I just have other plans.
- [on TV] What they're doing is insane!
- Yeah.
And that's what hurts him.
[on TV] Argentina!
[Ivn] There was a time
when my dad was my hero.
[upbeat swing music playing]
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 '92.
That's right, the year of the
Barcelona Olympics and the Seville Expo.
That was a year of plenty.
One chorizo and pork rinds.
Would you like some wine?
[Ivn] And my dad
took full advantage of it.
[music continues]
[Ivn] Until the lean years came along.
The economic recession of '93.
A national debt of 30 trillion pesetas.
An unemployment rate of 25%.
I don't fucking care,
get the fucking cops!
Get them over here! Let them cuff me!
This is bullshit!
It's bullshit, goddamn it!
[on TV] His only option is
to bow out gracefully.
- [father] Look at him. Look.
- [on TV] Resign, Mister Gonzlez.
[father] What a bunch of crooks!
Look at them! Stealing is all they know!
They're thieves, for fuck's sake.
They're thieves!
They show up, steal,
stuff their pockets full,
and then do it again!
[on TV] ...the citizens' trust
will be diminished...
- [father] Motherfuckers!
- [on TV] Don't deny Spain its opportunity.
It's the business plan of the year.
- [man 1] Oh boy, here we go again.
- [laughter]
Listen, we buy a shitty ass apartment.
Then we remodel it. And who's gonna do it?
- You work in construction, right?
- No way.
So once it's remodeled,
we resell it and then
we all split the profit.
- [man 1 scoffs]
- [man 2] You're nuts.
- He's right.
- Why?
I can't with all these schemes.
Haven't you seen the prices?
They're going through the roof.
We'll profit for sure.
Where the fuck will we get the cash,
though? Tell me.
- [Ivn] From a bank.
- [chuckles]
- [woman 1] Just like that?
- Banks are handing out credit to anyone.
[man 1] I don't know.
- Sounds like trouble, Ivn.
- [woman 2] He's right.
[man 1 laughs]
- Wait, guys, how much is fifty euros?
- Gimme that.
I'll pay in pesetas,
I still have some left.
- It's ten euros each.
- [woman 1] Here.
- Or...
- [man 1] How much?
...1,660 pesetas.
Uh, they're screwing us over.
[Ivn] 2002, the year we went
from the peseta to the euro.
Easily one of history's biggest rip-offs.
Hey, check out Mr. Linares.
He's hammered. [laughs]
You know that guy?
[tray clatters]
That guy? He lives in Brussels,
he's in parliament.
[Ivn] I was never the brightest in class,
but sometimes, I do have some good ideas.
I got it.
[Linares gasping]
[Linares] Gimme the keys, kid.
Gimme the keys.
- Maybe I should just call a taxi.
- No need for that.
[slurred] I'm perfectly fine.
Hurry up, I gotta be in Brussels by 9:00.
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.
- [Linares groans]
Give me the keys.
Look, for 300 euros,
I'll drive you to Brussels myself.
[Linares chuckles]
If we make it there
in time for me to take a shower,
then I'll give you five.
It's a deal.
[edgy theme music playing]
[Linares grunts]
[tires screech]
[powerful acceleration]
[music continues]
BRUSSELS
[music fades]
[tires screech]
[Linares breathing heavily]
[insistent knocking]
[door opens]
You're late.
I know. Sorry.
- Who's that?
- [derisive grunt]
[in French] You're always late.
This is the last time, all right?
[in English] Get in!
[sophisticated jazz music playing]
Here you go.
Just 300? I was speeding like crazy.
But I didn't have time to shower, did I?
That's right. Now you go catch a bus
and get the fuck outta here.
[engine starts]
[music continues]
[Ivn] You know that one moment in life
that can change everything forever?
Well, that was mine.
[knocking]
[heels tapping]
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?
100%.
[in French] Wait here.
He's right.
He's stealing from us.
[in English] You were right.
- What's your name?
- Ivn Mrquez.
What do you do for a living?
I'm good at driving.
And I'm trustworthy.
Not like that bastard.
Wanna make 10,000 euros then?
Of course.
["Cheater" by Carlos Jean playing]
[Ivn] That Linares guy was a damn mess.
And I'm a very curious guy
who loves money.
[music fades]
[clattering]
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
[woman sighs]
Happy birthday, sweetheart.
[delighted chuckling]
[kiss]
- Do you like it?
- I love her.
Hey...
Hi there.
[man] 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.
[man] Not if you're smart.
Look, in '95, uh...
a journalist came in
with a dossier to photocopy.
I saw what it was 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.
["Making My Own Rules"
by Carlos Jean playing]
So how is he?
She's a mare. [clicks tongue]
I want to make a, make a change
I don't need no one by my side
I'm gonna take all the money
And do it all by myself
Take it, take it, take it
Break it, break it, break it
[Ivn] 10,000 euros for a roundtrip
from Brussels to Madrid.
The deal of the century.
[police siren sounds]
[Ivn] But nothing's ever that simple.
[in French, Dutch] Good evening. Police.
[in French] Car papers?
[in English] Uh, no...
French?
Dutch?
[in Spanish] Spanish?
- [in English] English?
- Yeah, please.
- Yeah? License and registration.
- Sure.
[faint police car radio]
Is this your car?
Uh... no. No, no. It's a friend of mine's.
Open the trunk, will you?
Why?
The trunk, I said open it now.
[locks click]
Is this also your friend's?
Uh, no. No, no. It's... I...
I just, uh, sold my apartment in Madrid,
because I wanted to set up a...
business here in Brussels.
[police officer] Mm-hmm.
And why a suitcase full of cash?
You don't trust banks?
[Ivn] You heard about Argentina?
The banks are actually
taking everyone's... savings.
[groans]
[Ivn panting]
I'm leaving.
And I'm going home.
Or I'm gonna call the Spanish consulate.
[in Flemish] Come on, let's go.
[Ivn, in English] 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, 100%.
I gave you some extra cash,
so you can buy yourself some new clothes.
Your image is very important.
We should celebrate, right?
[in French] Merci, Antoine.
- [accented French] Merci, Antoine.
- [chuckling]
[in English] Mescal. It comes with a worm.
- [Ivn] Hmm.
- 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.
[Ivn] That night was pure magic.
[cheering, laughter]
[croupier speaks French]
- [croupier speaking]
- What did he say?
[in English] No more bets.
Yeah!
[Ivn] All on 23.
- Are you sure?
- No risk, no reward.
Come on, come on, come on...
- [croupier, in French] 23.
- Yes!
[Ivn laughs delightedly]
[Anne gasps]
[moaning, cries out]
[both moan]
[Ivn] Pure fucking magic.
[Anne chuckles]
[funky music playing]
Ivn...
this is Franois, my husband.
[Ivn] Franois Letissier.
The son of a diamond smuggler,
exchange broker,
currency trafficking middleman,
and a fucking asshole.
[in French] Franois, this is Ivn.
The young man I told you about.
Come with us.
[Ivn, in English] 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 Escmez.
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?
[gunshot]
[continuous gunshots]
Another.
[wings fluttering]
[continuous gunshots]
[hunting horn sounds]
[Ivn] Paco Escmez was known as Mr. 3%.
[vehicle approaches]
[Ivn] 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.
["Me Va, Me Va" by Hermanos Reyes playing]
[Ivn] 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.
Escmez 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.
[music fades]
Lourdes, we're running out of ham.
[Ivn] Have you named her?
The mare.
It's a male.
[Ivn] Hmm. For racing or jumping?
He's a stallion.
- What a coincidence, me too.
- Really?
Sweetie, tell the folks
we're leaving in half an hour, will you?
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
[mellow jazz music playing]
[music fades]
[soft chatter]
[Anne] 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?
- [woman tittering]
Fourteen million.
Wow. The Spanish miracle.
It's so insane.
Even all my neighborhood friends are
applying for loans to buy apartments.
[couple chortling]
The more construction work,
the more dirty money.
[in French] Champagne.
[couple giggling]
- You know, you're a bastard.
- No.
- Okay, come on. Shall we?
- Yeah, let's go.
[man] Great, but we'll go together, okay?
- Why do you Spaniards talk so loudly?
- [man] I'll pay the check, okay?
- You'll be paying a lot more than that.
- [man] Come on.
Unlikely couple, don't you think?
What he's got inside his briefcase
makes everything likely.
- Well, let's focus on our business.
- I'll go with you.
[Anne scoffs]
It's 14 million.
I want to learn.
[in French] Perfect.
["The Right Path" by Carlos Jean playing]
Hey baby
I'm loving the path you're on
When you keep walking along
Hey baby, you walk along the path
That we're on
And nobody gets you now
And nobody gets you now
[music fades]
- [in German] Good morning, Ms. Duprees.
- Good morning.
- You look lovely, as usual.
- [polite laugh]
[in English] Allow me to introduce you
to our partner, Mister Stoffel.
[in German] Shall we go?
[Ivn, in English] Mr. Stoffel,
with the help of an IT specialist,
had created the perfect system
in his local branch office.
Together, they laundered money
while doing parallel bookkeeping.
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.
[Ivn] 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.
No way, Mom, I can't, I'm sorry.
[on TV] ...both from abroad and from Spain.
Well, I'm up to my neck in work.
Mm-hmm, yeah. When I get a break,
I'll come home. Okay, I promise.
[on TV] ...all of you, as an urban planning...
Hey, Mom, I gotta go, okay?
Yeah, love you too. Yeah, yeah. Bye.
...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've been
possible without the support of my wife...
[Ivn] Like I said,
I was never the brightest kid in class,
but I do have some good ideas.
Son of a bitch.
[Ivn] All I needed
was just a little patience.
[gentle rhythmic music playing]
- [man] You think we can try it out?
- Hey, stop it, please.
Okay. [chuckles]
If you keep talking about it,
I'll walk away without looking back.
[man] Listen to me. Listen to me.
- Can I get you anything?
- I don't wanna see it, I just want some...
[man] Uh, one espresso.
Indulge me.
Oh my god, you're so
annoying sometimes, you know that?
What?
[man laughs] You know,
it's just something I wanna try.
[music intensifies]
- [scuffling thud]
- [Ivn grunts]
- [man] What are you up to, buddy? Huh?
- Easy now.
You've been here for days.
What do you want? Huh?
Check my backpack.
- Where?
- There, in the small one.
Ten thousand euros.
It's yours if you want it.
Okay, so what's 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.
[coughs]
[woman] If you don't want me upset,
you could have the courtesy
to take your ring off when you're with me.
- We'll talk in the room.
- [woman] You're impossible, you know that?
Uh, are you, uh... Spanish?
No, we're Japanese, honey.
[Ivn laughs]
I, uh... Listen, do you have a cigarette?
I can't buy them anywhere.
[woman] 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. [laughs]
Alright. You guys have fun.
- [woman] Oh, we will, honey.
- [man] Okay, come on.
you could at least try to be discrete.
[woman] Jealous? Are you upset?
You didn't seem upset...
- [man moaning]
- [Ivn chuckles]
- [man and woman moaning]
- [Ivn chuckles]
[man] Holy shit.
Yannick.
Ivn.
- You're not from around here, are you?
- I grew up in Madrid.
No kidding. Where?
Carabanchel.
Vallecas.
- [moaning continues on video]
- [Yannick laughs]
- 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?
[Ivn] Yannick wasn't
the brightest kid in class either.
But he had some skills.
[man grunts]
[Ivn] 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.
["Take Your Money" by Carlos Jean playing]
[crying out]
[both screaming]
[Ivn] The king of the fucking party.
[music continues]
[crowd cheering, chanting]
[cheering]
- [cheering, clapping]
- [music fades]
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 it.
You sure? It'll be a week, tops.
Don't worry about it.
Family is very important.
What do you think?
[Anne] Hmm.
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.
- [laughs]
[Ivn] Obviously, I had better things
to do than visit my parents.
- [glasses clinking]
- [party chatter]
[valet] Good afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon. Where's Mr. Ocaa?
Let me see... he's right over there, sir.
Okay, thanks.
[in French] Excuse me, Mr. Ocaa?
[in English] We have a gift for you.
It's a surprise.
[in French] This way, please.
Yeah, that's fine. Let's see
what Mohammed has for me.
[Ivn, in English]
Nothing like a few words in French
to catch a Spanish bumpkin.
[Ocaa] Are you sure
you have something for me?
[man and woman moaning]
Uh, alright, kids. Uh, alright.
Don't make your lives harder.
This is illegal.
I'm gonna have to call the police.
- [Ivn] 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.
[inhales] What do you want?
- [Ivn] Information.
- You got put up to this.
- You both journalists then?
- [Ivn] 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.
[Ocaa sighs]
[indistinct chatter]
Um... okay.
Uh... [sniffs]
...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.
[funky jazz music playing]
[Ivn] 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.
- [angry grunt]
[cameras clicking]
This is all I have.
I never spend it, actually.
Someone always gets the check for me.
It's, uh, always the same.
[music continues]
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.
[inhales] His nickname
is "Insatiable Plonker."
- [scoffs]
- 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 Ivn,
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? [laughs]
Yeah, anyway...
[Ivn] 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, Luca?
Who's that kid?
I have no idea,
but I'm gonna look into it.
- [Ivn] That...
- Great.
[Ivn] ...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.
[man] Everything you're saying is great.
But we've spent
many years working with Escmez.
We've never had any issues. And...
Well, it's obvious...
we don't know who you are.
[inhales] Uh...
Sure, sure.
Obviously, I mean, you don't know him.
Sure. Truth is,
no one knows this guy. That's it.
That's exactly why
Ivn's offer sounds prudent to me.
Well, plus, you know,
discretion and prudence don't seem
to be Escmez's virtues anymore,
if I may say so.
Uh, okay. Look... C... Come on, guys.
[false laugh] Goddamn it. He's my nephew.
He's trustworthy.
I would bet my life on him.
And not only that, even my money.
Uh... 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.
"Ocaa, can you please
rezone this land?" "Okay."
"Ocaa, the city
planning project." "Okay."
"Ocaa, 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 24 hours. What more do you want?
Folks, we're doing fine.
We're doing fucking great.
And we can do better.
But we need to have faith. We need faith.
[engine humming]
[tires screech]
GENEVA
That's a gold mine, you know?
[inhales] Escmez? I don't think
he'll like you stealing his clients.
Don't worry about Escmez.
There's enough for both of us.
Besides, we won't bother
any of his clients. I promise.
You're a pretty fast learner.
- I have the best teacher.
- [scoffs]
[Anne inhales deeply]
[sexy music playing]
- [Ivn] Leaving already?
- Yeah.
Franois is expecting me.
Christmas with the family.
Don't go.
Stay here with me.
Are you always such a high roller?
I want everything.
Well, I'm sorry.
[sighs]
[in French] I have to go.
[music continues]
[Ivn] This is for you.
[father coughs]
- And this is for you too.
- [mother laughs]
And this... for you, Pop.
[father] 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've seen my Porsche parked
out front? And check my watch out.
I don't know what you're up to, son,
but easy money? [scoffs]
I'm telling you that means trouble.
It's the opposite of trouble.
Money is the solution
to all kinds of trouble.
You think you're so clever.
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?
[inhales shakily]
At least I can sleep well
at night. With a clear conscience.
Look, I'm not interested in sleep.
I'd rather live my life.
- You'll regret it at some point.
- That's enough, stop it.
[father] Well...
[rasping cough]
He gets on my nerves!
[voice breaking]
I love it, son. Thank you so much.
- [man 1] Well, well. Look who's here.
- What's up?
- What's with the car?
- [Ivn] You know.
- Hey, man.
- What's up, Ivn?
Well, I mean... Don Ivn.
- 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.
- Hmm.
It's yours?
What does it say?
EL HUESO CONSTRUCTION
[upbeat swing music playing]
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.
[Ivn] Heaps of dirty money
kept flowing in.
[music continues]
[seagulls squawking]
[Luca] His name is Ivn Mrquez.
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?
Apparently, he's Ocaa's go-to guy
for any business in the area.
He's always with that Moroccan guy.
[inhales deeply]
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 24 hours.
Your identities will be protected.
- Escmez.
- Chechu, what's up? How are you?
- Your money will be too.
- [Chechu] Good.
Not many spots left, okay?
So, uh... think about it.
[Escmez]...the situation is critical.
- [Chechu] Yes, well...
- We'll need to discuss it, right?
[music continues]
[music fades]
- What are you doing here?
- What about you?
Hmm, you know. I'm here.
You look different.
Well, thanks.
You look as pretty as always.
[scoffs]
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 Hrcules, 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.
[Escmez] Ivn.
What a surprise. It's been a while.
- How are you?
- I'm fine.
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 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, Ivn.
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.
[tires screeching]
[Yannick tsk-tsks] Moron.
What the hell are you doing?
[Ivn] What's going on? Hey!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Okay, okay, take it... [grunts]
- [thud]
- [Yannick groaning]
[Ivn] Uh...
Be smart, kids. And leave Marbella.
- [car door slams]
- [grunts]
Ah!
[tires screeching]
[Ivn grunts]
- [Yannick] You okay?
- [Ivn] Are you?
- Ah!
- [Ivn] There you go. Come on.
[stifled groan]
[Ivn] We were in over our heads.
So we needed to change our strategy.
[door closes]
Well, I do have to admit
that you two have balls.
How are your injuries?
- Better.
- [Escmez] Any broken bones?
Those are the rules of the game.
[Ivn] 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 10% cut.
- A 30% cut.
- 20.
30% for the first two years,
and then 20% each year after that.
Deal.
Saint Peter rules paradise.
Nicely played, kid.
One more thing.
Stay away from my daughter.
[door closes]
[pulsating electronic music playing]
[Ivn] Life can be wonderful.
[Ivn] Here we go again.
[both panting, moaning]
[Ivn] And again.
Forget it, babe. He can't even get it up.
[music fades]
What are you doing here?
I need to speak with you.
[groans]
It's messy here, sorry.
We had a little party last night.
[grunts]
What's up?
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!
[exhales]
[Ivn clicks teeth]
I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry.
Ivn...
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?
[inhales]
Franois has just received a tip-off.
There's an investigation underway.
The police are after Escmez,
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, Ivn.
Hmm?
Thanks for the heads-up.
You're leaving?
Yes, I am.
Stay for a while.
Take care.
[somber music playing]
[sniffs]
[music builds]
For fuck's sake. Where's the fucking wire?
[nervous breathing]
Fuck, fuck.
[panting]
[music calms]
What? 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, Ivn.
- I'm not paranoid.
- You're paranoid.
- I'm not.
We were invited to the party of the year.
Huh?
The crme de la crme, Ivn. Relax, okay?
[sighs] Okay.
MALAGA
[dance music playing]
[Ivn] 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 really meet this week, Ivn.
- You can count on it.
Ivn, come here. Let me introduce you to...
What's up, Yannick, bud?
Look, let me introduce you to Carmen,
Mlaga's deputy mayor, okay?
Manolo, Environment.
- And Antonio, Industry in Seville.
- Nice to meet you.
His wife... Wait, wait, wait...
Joana... [laughs]...Joana.
[laughs] 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?
- [laughs]
My dad would kill me.
No way, come on. He loves you.
That's true. He would kill you.
You know, I don't think so.
I'm adding a lot to his fortune.
Hmm.
Gimme your hand.
[dance music continues]
Call me sometime,
and take me out to dinner
somewhere special.
[sniffs]
[sniffs, sighs]
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, Ivn. Huh?
- You want his guys coming after us?
- Look who's there.
Huh? Who was right?
[sniffs, coughs]
- I'll go talk to them.
- What are you doing?
[Yannick] Ivn.
Hey, I wanna talk to your boss.
We'll follow you, okay? [slaps car]
[Luca] Inspector.
Good morning. Come closer, please.
First of all, thanks a lot
for making yourselves available.
You're Ivn. You're Yannick.
I'm Inspector Manuel Roig,
and I'm the one
in charge of this investigation.
- The main reason...
- Wait, wait... what investigation?
[Roig] 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 you.
We've been following you
because we're pretty sure that, uh...
the two of you have been doing business
with Ocaa and also Escmez.
And why is that bad?
You're insulting my intelligence.
Don't play stupid with me.
You know perfectly well what they do.
- [Yannick] No.
- No?
- No, we don't know what they do.
- [Roig] Hmm.
[Ivn] Look, we just do public relations.
Our job involves
planning parties, big events...
We work with a lot of people, okay?
[Roig] That's a shame, Ivn.
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.
[inhales] 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 PRECINCDon't think about it, okay?
It was either them or us.
We're screwed, Ivn.
Tell me, why are we screwed?
Don't you see? When they arrest
that son of a bitch Escmez,
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, Ivn?
What's he gonna think
when he gets arrested and we don't?
Hmm?
Good luck to you, partner.
Gimme a hug, bro. Come on.
Hey, best of luck to you.
Take care.
[Ivn] The only solution was
to get out of the country.
All I needed was a good excuse.
[ringing tone]
- [woman] Hello?
- Leti.
Do you like surprises?
[Leticia laughs] I love surprises.
Then grab your passport.
[upbeat pop music playing]
Wow.
Is this for real? [laughs]
You know the good stuff, huh?
[music continues]
PARIS
Hey, I'm sorry, I just, uh,
I didn't see your calls. I'm sorry.
I'm in Paris.
[Ivn] Leticia told her dad
she was with me.
[Leticia] Dad...
[Ivn] She said she was old enough
to make her own decisions...
...my decisions now...
[Ivn] ...and we were going to
travel around Europe for a few weeks.
It was the perfect cover.
That way Escmez wouldn't get suspicious
when he got arrested and I didn't.
- Was he pissed off?
- [Leticia] A little...
but, uh, I told him I'm old enough
to make my own decisions.
[clicks teeth]
[chuckles]
- Is this for me?
- Open it.
[laughs]
[Ivn] Do you like it?
Hmm. I love it.
It's super, super beautiful.
- [Ivn] Flights, hotels, gifts...
- Wow.
[Ivn] That alibi
was costing me a fortune.
BRUSSELS
[Ivn] The money was going fast.
- [Ivn] Come on!
- [Leticia] Come on.
[Ivn] But what the hell?
What's money for if not for spending?
[Anne] Mm-hmm.
[both laugh]
Ivn?
Nice to see you.
Right back at you.
- And you must be Leticia.
- [Leticia] Mm-hmm.
Nice to meet you.
- You make a beautiful couple.
- [Ivn] Thanks.
Really?
How's Don Francisco?
You know, the usual. Super busy.
[Anne] I bet he's really happy.
With you and Ivn being together.
[Leticia] Hmm.
- [in French] Shall we go?
- Yes.
[Anne] Hmm.
[Franois] What's he doing here?
[in English] She's pretty.
She must've been stunning
back in the day, right?
I think she still is, don't you?
[Ivn] We were having a great time.
And I was just waiting
for everything to blow up.
[angry shouting]
[Ivn] 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.
[on TV] During their 12 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.
[angry crowd shouting on TV]
[Ivn] Leti.
- Hey.
- [on TV] The scheme started in 2005
- I have to go back to Madrid.
- ...led by the same man, Antonio Roca,
and a team formed by the Tax...
[Ivn] I can't go with you.
You know that, right?
I know.
[on TV] They had come together
in Madrid to strategize and investigate
both the structure
and the modus operandi of the schemers.
The people in custody are the former
Urban Planning advisor...
Behave yourself, okay?
...and mastermind of the plot,
Juan Antonio Roca, the mayor, Sol Yage,
and the deputy mayor,
Isabel Garca Marcos.
Operation Malaya has raised
all kinds of questions
about how it's possible to set up
such a complex...
[Ivn] With Leticia back home,
I could get back into the game.
It was time to raise the stakes.
[Ivn] What happened to Escmez
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.
[in French] He says he can take care
of his clients while Escmez is in prison.
The pawn wants to become king.
[in English] What did he say?
[sighs] Look, we have to disappear
for a little bit, Ivn.
Just until things cool down.
What about the money
that's supposed to get to Switzerland,
what about that?
[in French]
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.
[in English] He said
hard times are coming for us.
The bubble is about to burst, Ivn.
Europe's going to turn off the tap
while the financial crisis lasts.
What crisis?
They're building now more than ever.
Banks are throwing credit at everyone.
Right, precisely.
We have to disappear
for a while, alright? Trust me on this.
[Ivn] 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.
[techno music playing]
[both yelling]
[Ivn] The king of the party.
[music continues]
[Ivn] And the party lasted
as long as the money did.
- [music ends]
- [door opens]
What the hell are you doing in Madrid?
Asshole.
[door closes]
[cell rings]
Hey, Mom.
[mother] Ivn,
your father passed away.
[Ivn] 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.
[door opens]
I'm so sorry, Mom.
- [mother sobbing]
- I'm really sorry.
I'll give you
some time alone with your dad.
[somber music playing]
[inhales shakily]
[exhales]
[sniffles]
[Ivn] Franois was right.
Hard times were coming.
[explosion]
[explosion]
We could say that
the Spanish economy has just entered
the Champions League of the world economy.
[Ivn] The first major economic crisis
of the 21st century.
FOR SALE
[Ivn] The real estate bubble.
Lehman Brothers and all that crap.
[Zapatero] The, uh, circumstances are not
going to pose a significant impact
on the evolution of the Spanish economy.
[Ivn] 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 Mir.
- No! Wow!
- Are you serious?
- For real.
- Really?
- A Mir hanging on this guy's wall.
- Insane.
Pretty high-level stuff, huh?
- [Ivn] Mm-hmm.
- Totally.
Question for you. What about Pantoja?
- Did you get to meet her?
- [woman 1] Who is it?
[speaking Chinese]
- Pantoja, she's amazing.
- [women laugh]
- She really is. And so is Julin.
- [woman 2] I knew it.
- That's insane.
- [arguing in Chinese]
You should write a book, you know?
- I just might.
- [man 1] I should be in it.
[woman 2] That's right. All of us.
[woman 1] Let's toast. To Ivn.
Back in the neighborhood.
- To Ivn.
- Cheers.
- [man 1] So good to see you, bro.
- Yeah.
- [door closes]
- [Ivn] Hmm.
- Sergio, can I borrow your car?
- What for? Where are you going?
[tense rhythmic music playing]
[car alarm pings]
[Ivn] 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.
GROCERY STORE
[music continues]
[music builds]
I'll break all of your bones
if I ever see your face again.
Understood?
[music continues]
[Ivn laughs] Yep, completely understood.
[music fades]
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.
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.
[Ivn] Where is it from?
Wholesale importation.
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?
- [Ivn] Hmm.
- So he has to send them the rest
of the money in paper currency.
How do they do it?
The old-fashioned way.
[Ocaa] 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, you know, it's like with drugs.
How should I put it...?
Maybe one gets caught,
but ten get away with it.
- [Ivn] Hmm.
- And there's no shortage of Chinese. So...
- [both chuckle]
- Anyway. Look, Yao Ming.
He's pretty goddamn 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.
Ivn, don't forget about me.
I have my mortgage to deal with
and my daughter's tuition. Okay?
- Mm-hmm. Yeah, I got you.
- Appreciate it.
[Ivn] Dirty money. The magic words.
GENEVA
Ivn.
You look great.
I'm really happy to see you.
Thanks. Right back at you.
Champagne?
Uh... Water.
You serious?
[water pouring]
How's everything?
What have you been up to
the past few months?
Nothing too 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?
- Mm-hmm.
- 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.
We had an idea that...
[Ivn] 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.
[Ivn] 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 million?
[computer keys clicking]
Three.
[clicking continues]
[cell phone alert pings]
[Ivn] A sweet deal.
[Anne giggles]
[edgy jazz music playing]
[in French] Madame.
Young man.
[edgy jazz music continues]
[in English] Yannick. What's up, brother?
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.
[laughs]
Yeah. Yeah.
Listen, I could use a business partner.
Are you up for it?
[laughs] Perfect.
[music continues]
[counting machine whirring intensifies]
- Good evening.
- [valet] Good evening.
Thank you, sir.
[Ivn] 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?
- [Escmez] I'm good, good. Really good.
In fact, we're here to celebrate.
Judge dismissed the charges.
[Anne] Oh.
What about you, huh?
Rumor has it
you're working with Yao Ming now.
[laughs] Wow.
News travels fast, doesn't it?
[Escmez laughs]
Yeah. Watch out, okay?
Can't trust those guys.
Well, although, nowadays...
who can you trust?
[inhales]
[Escmez] Six months in jail,
a year and a half on probation...
Not a single visit, or a call from you.
[Anne] Paco.
We had to disappear.
[Escmez] Sure. Well,
I would've done the same.
But there is one thing
that I would never do.
I would never rat anyone out.
- [Ivn] Fucking asshole.
- Don't. Back off.
- Back off.
- [Anne] Ivn.
[chuckling]
See that?
Kid from the hood
has finally shown his true colors.
- Let's go.
- [Anne] Sure.
[Ivn] But Escmez 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.
[in French] I'm asking when!
Didn't he leave me any documents?
[Ivn, in English] Hey. What's the matter?
[gasps, in French] Motherfucker! Look!
THE "FALCIANI LIST," A MASSIVE FRAUD
[in English] What is this?
Who's Falciani?
He just leaked an entire list
of several secret bank accounts.
All of our clients are on it.
Okay, look, calm down.
Have you spoken to Stoffel?
Stoffel and Franois took all
the money and they ran off.
[panting]
They'll come after us.
Ivn.
We have to disappear.
Thanks.
[clicks teeth]
You gotta be fucking kidding me.
[engine accelerates]
[tires screech]
[police siren shrieks]
[gasping]
[tires screech]
[powerful acceleration]
- [tires screech]
- [Anne cries out]
[Anne] No, no. Please don't.
[man 1] Come on, move it.
Go, go, go, go, go, go!
- [Anne screams]
- [man 2] He said, let's go. Hurry up. Go!
- Get in the car.
- [Ivn] Okay, okay, okay.
Let's go! Drive, let's fucking go!
- [man 1] Come on, come on. Move it.
- [man 2] This way.
[Ivn] Easy, easy.
[man 1] Come on, let's go. Hurry up.
- Move, you piece of shit.
- [Ivn] 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.
[Ivn] We have nothing
to do with that, I swear.
I have informants in the police force.
I wanna know what you told the detective.
[panting] 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, Ivn.
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 on the police force.
Fuck. That was different, okay?
Escmez 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.
[in Chinese] Kill him!
[in English] No, no, no. Don't, don't.
Wait. Wait a second.
Okay? Listen to me, Yao.
What will you do with your money?
[Anne breathing shallowly]
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.
[breathes deeply]
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 3% of 1.55 billion is?
[Anne laughs]
Yeah.
46.5 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.
[breathes deeply, sniffs]
[edgy electronic music playing]
[music builds]
[metallic rumbling]
[clangs]
[helicopter whirring]
[panicked screaming]
[crowd screaming]
Ivn Mrquez.
This is an international warrant
issued by the Spanish authorities.
You are under arrest.
[Ivn] And the party was over.
[police shouting]
I want a lawyer.
Absolutely, of course you do.
That's your right, the law allows for it.
I'm sure at this point,
you're gonna have secured
one hell of a lawyer, won't you Ivn?
Yeah, the best.
Well, you know, your sentence will, uh...
probably be around 20 years,
and the best lawyer can get it down
to about, let's say, 15.
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.
[softly] One million euros.
One million euros in cash.
[whispers] Can you guarantee
the full amount in cash?
[Ivn] 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.
[scoffs]
[regular tone] 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
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 60 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, Ivn.
Unless I win the lottery,
but, unfortunately,
I never play the lottery.
I'll be out in 48 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 Escmez, right?
Or was it Yao? Who ratted me out?
[whispers] The offer we made her
was to pick either freedom or love.
That's bullshit.
[regular tone] You're a liar.
That's impossible.
Don't make that face, kid.
You would've done the same thing.
COURTHOUSE
[Ivn] Roig was right.
I would've done the same.
[man shouting] Police!
[on TV] So far, Operation Emperador
has resulted in 80 arrests
and 120 searches
targeting a corruption network
that managed to launder up to
1.22 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...
[Ivn] 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.
["Chivato" by Chango playing]
Those who are accountable
are the ones who should pay.
- [cameras clicking]
- That's enough.
THE PUBLIC SECTOR FRAUD
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
ERE IN ANDALUSIA
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
CUTS TO HEALTH AND EDUCATION
REMAIN IN PLACE TO THIS DAY
Deal with it, and do it,
and then just let it be.
THE VALUE OF ALL SPANIARDS' SAVINGS FELL
AND INEQUALITY SKYROCKETED
THE COURIER
["Take Your Money" by Carlos Jean playing]
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
[edgy theme music playing]
[music continues]
My name is Ivn Mrquez.
I was born in Vallecas,
and I just turned thirty a few days ago.
[keys jangling]
[locks clicking]
[Ivn] What's a guy from Vallecas
doing in a container
that just traveled from Spain to Hong Kong
carrying 1.55 billion euros?
1.55 billion.
And my commission as the courier was 3%.
Do you have any fucking idea
what 3% of that is?
That was back in 2010
when I was in the prime of my life.
[music continues]
[party crowd cheering]
[Ivn] Life can be wonderful.
But there's always someone
looking to fuck it all up.
[helicopter flying overhead]
THE COURIER
Hello.
Thank you, sir.
[car door opens, closes]
[engine starts]
VALLECAS FOOTBALL FIELD
NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT UNDER CONSTRUCTION
[hip hop music playing through headphones]
[thunder rumbling]
WE GIVE YOUR DREAMS THE GREEN LIGH[on TV] The Argentinian population,
whose buying power...
You think these sons of bitches
are gonna compensate anybody? Huh?
- You'll see. Of course they won't.
- [entrance bell pings]
[on TV] The assets were frozen...
- by the state.
- Hey.
[man] Well, look who's here.
The king of the mambo.
[on TV] ...businesses have still
the high cost of taxes...
How are you, honey?
- How was your day? Yeah?
- I'm good.
- Yeah. 1,000 pesetas in tips just now.
- That's great.
[man grumbles]
- You could have made that here too, huh?
- [man scoffs]
Come on.
Your father really misses you.
[father] Of course they steal. I mean,
whatever they have to do to survive.
Come on.
Yeah.
I just have other plans.
- [on TV] What they're doing is insane!
- Yeah.
And that's what hurts him.
[on TV] Argentina!
[Ivn] There was a time
when my dad was my hero.
[upbeat swing music playing]
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 '92.
That's right, the year of the
Barcelona Olympics and the Seville Expo.
That was a year of plenty.
One chorizo and pork rinds.
Would you like some wine?
[Ivn] And my dad
took full advantage of it.
[music continues]
[Ivn] Until the lean years came along.
The economic recession of '93.
A national debt of 30 trillion pesetas.
An unemployment rate of 25%.
I don't fucking care,
get the fucking cops!
Get them over here! Let them cuff me!
This is bullshit!
It's bullshit, goddamn it!
[on TV] His only option is
to bow out gracefully.
- [father] Look at him. Look.
- [on TV] Resign, Mister Gonzlez.
[father] What a bunch of crooks!
Look at them! Stealing is all they know!
They're thieves, for fuck's sake.
They're thieves!
They show up, steal,
stuff their pockets full,
and then do it again!
[on TV] ...the citizens' trust
will be diminished...
- [father] Motherfuckers!
- [on TV] Don't deny Spain its opportunity.
It's the business plan of the year.
- [man 1] Oh boy, here we go again.
- [laughter]
Listen, we buy a shitty ass apartment.
Then we remodel it. And who's gonna do it?
- You work in construction, right?
- No way.
So once it's remodeled,
we resell it and then
we all split the profit.
- [man 1 scoffs]
- [man 2] You're nuts.
- He's right.
- Why?
I can't with all these schemes.
Haven't you seen the prices?
They're going through the roof.
We'll profit for sure.
Where the fuck will we get the cash,
though? Tell me.
- [Ivn] From a bank.
- [chuckles]
- [woman 1] Just like that?
- Banks are handing out credit to anyone.
[man 1] I don't know.
- Sounds like trouble, Ivn.
- [woman 2] He's right.
[man 1 laughs]
- Wait, guys, how much is fifty euros?
- Gimme that.
I'll pay in pesetas,
I still have some left.
- It's ten euros each.
- [woman 1] Here.
- Or...
- [man 1] How much?
...1,660 pesetas.
Uh, they're screwing us over.
[Ivn] 2002, the year we went
from the peseta to the euro.
Easily one of history's biggest rip-offs.
Hey, check out Mr. Linares.
He's hammered. [laughs]
You know that guy?
[tray clatters]
That guy? He lives in Brussels,
he's in parliament.
[Ivn] I was never the brightest in class,
but sometimes, I do have some good ideas.
I got it.
[Linares gasping]
[Linares] Gimme the keys, kid.
Gimme the keys.
- Maybe I should just call a taxi.
- No need for that.
[slurred] I'm perfectly fine.
Hurry up, I gotta be in Brussels by 9:00.
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.
- [Linares groans]
Give me the keys.
Look, for 300 euros,
I'll drive you to Brussels myself.
[Linares chuckles]
If we make it there
in time for me to take a shower,
then I'll give you five.
It's a deal.
[edgy theme music playing]
[Linares grunts]
[tires screech]
[powerful acceleration]
[music continues]
BRUSSELS
[music fades]
[tires screech]
[Linares breathing heavily]
[insistent knocking]
[door opens]
You're late.
I know. Sorry.
- Who's that?
- [derisive grunt]
[in French] You're always late.
This is the last time, all right?
[in English] Get in!
[sophisticated jazz music playing]
Here you go.
Just 300? I was speeding like crazy.
But I didn't have time to shower, did I?
That's right. Now you go catch a bus
and get the fuck outta here.
[engine starts]
[music continues]
[Ivn] You know that one moment in life
that can change everything forever?
Well, that was mine.
[knocking]
[heels tapping]
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?
100%.
[in French] Wait here.
He's right.
He's stealing from us.
[in English] You were right.
- What's your name?
- Ivn Mrquez.
What do you do for a living?
I'm good at driving.
And I'm trustworthy.
Not like that bastard.
Wanna make 10,000 euros then?
Of course.
["Cheater" by Carlos Jean playing]
[Ivn] That Linares guy was a damn mess.
And I'm a very curious guy
who loves money.
[music fades]
[clattering]
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
[woman sighs]
Happy birthday, sweetheart.
[delighted chuckling]
[kiss]
- Do you like it?
- I love her.
Hey...
Hi there.
[man] 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.
[man] Not if you're smart.
Look, in '95, uh...
a journalist came in
with a dossier to photocopy.
I saw what it was 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.
["Making My Own Rules"
by Carlos Jean playing]
So how is he?
She's a mare. [clicks tongue]
I want to make a, make a change
I don't need no one by my side
I'm gonna take all the money
And do it all by myself
Take it, take it, take it
Break it, break it, break it
[Ivn] 10,000 euros for a roundtrip
from Brussels to Madrid.
The deal of the century.
[police siren sounds]
[Ivn] But nothing's ever that simple.
[in French, Dutch] Good evening. Police.
[in French] Car papers?
[in English] Uh, no...
French?
Dutch?
[in Spanish] Spanish?
- [in English] English?
- Yeah, please.
- Yeah? License and registration.
- Sure.
[faint police car radio]
Is this your car?
Uh... no. No, no. It's a friend of mine's.
Open the trunk, will you?
Why?
The trunk, I said open it now.
[locks click]
Is this also your friend's?
Uh, no. No, no. It's... I...
I just, uh, sold my apartment in Madrid,
because I wanted to set up a...
business here in Brussels.
[police officer] Mm-hmm.
And why a suitcase full of cash?
You don't trust banks?
[Ivn] You heard about Argentina?
The banks are actually
taking everyone's... savings.
[groans]
[Ivn panting]
I'm leaving.
And I'm going home.
Or I'm gonna call the Spanish consulate.
[in Flemish] Come on, let's go.
[Ivn, in English] 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, 100%.
I gave you some extra cash,
so you can buy yourself some new clothes.
Your image is very important.
We should celebrate, right?
[in French] Merci, Antoine.
- [accented French] Merci, Antoine.
- [chuckling]
[in English] Mescal. It comes with a worm.
- [Ivn] Hmm.
- 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.
[Ivn] That night was pure magic.
[cheering, laughter]
[croupier speaks French]
- [croupier speaking]
- What did he say?
[in English] No more bets.
Yeah!
[Ivn] All on 23.
- Are you sure?
- No risk, no reward.
Come on, come on, come on...
- [croupier, in French] 23.
- Yes!
[Ivn laughs delightedly]
[Anne gasps]
[moaning, cries out]
[both moan]
[Ivn] Pure fucking magic.
[Anne chuckles]
[funky music playing]
Ivn...
this is Franois, my husband.
[Ivn] Franois Letissier.
The son of a diamond smuggler,
exchange broker,
currency trafficking middleman,
and a fucking asshole.
[in French] Franois, this is Ivn.
The young man I told you about.
Come with us.
[Ivn, in English] 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 Escmez.
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?
[gunshot]
[continuous gunshots]
Another.
[wings fluttering]
[continuous gunshots]
[hunting horn sounds]
[Ivn] Paco Escmez was known as Mr. 3%.
[vehicle approaches]
[Ivn] 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.
["Me Va, Me Va" by Hermanos Reyes playing]
[Ivn] 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.
Escmez 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.
[music fades]
Lourdes, we're running out of ham.
[Ivn] Have you named her?
The mare.
It's a male.
[Ivn] Hmm. For racing or jumping?
He's a stallion.
- What a coincidence, me too.
- Really?
Sweetie, tell the folks
we're leaving in half an hour, will you?
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
[mellow jazz music playing]
[music fades]
[soft chatter]
[Anne] 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?
- [woman tittering]
Fourteen million.
Wow. The Spanish miracle.
It's so insane.
Even all my neighborhood friends are
applying for loans to buy apartments.
[couple chortling]
The more construction work,
the more dirty money.
[in French] Champagne.
[couple giggling]
- You know, you're a bastard.
- No.
- Okay, come on. Shall we?
- Yeah, let's go.
[man] Great, but we'll go together, okay?
- Why do you Spaniards talk so loudly?
- [man] I'll pay the check, okay?
- You'll be paying a lot more than that.
- [man] Come on.
Unlikely couple, don't you think?
What he's got inside his briefcase
makes everything likely.
- Well, let's focus on our business.
- I'll go with you.
[Anne scoffs]
It's 14 million.
I want to learn.
[in French] Perfect.
["The Right Path" by Carlos Jean playing]
Hey baby
I'm loving the path you're on
When you keep walking along
Hey baby, you walk along the path
That we're on
And nobody gets you now
And nobody gets you now
[music fades]
- [in German] Good morning, Ms. Duprees.
- Good morning.
- You look lovely, as usual.
- [polite laugh]
[in English] Allow me to introduce you
to our partner, Mister Stoffel.
[in German] Shall we go?
[Ivn, in English] Mr. Stoffel,
with the help of an IT specialist,
had created the perfect system
in his local branch office.
Together, they laundered money
while doing parallel bookkeeping.
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.
[Ivn] 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.
No way, Mom, I can't, I'm sorry.
[on TV] ...both from abroad and from Spain.
Well, I'm up to my neck in work.
Mm-hmm, yeah. When I get a break,
I'll come home. Okay, I promise.
[on TV] ...all of you, as an urban planning...
Hey, Mom, I gotta go, okay?
Yeah, love you too. Yeah, yeah. Bye.
...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've been
possible without the support of my wife...
[Ivn] Like I said,
I was never the brightest kid in class,
but I do have some good ideas.
Son of a bitch.
[Ivn] All I needed
was just a little patience.
[gentle rhythmic music playing]
- [man] You think we can try it out?
- Hey, stop it, please.
Okay. [chuckles]
If you keep talking about it,
I'll walk away without looking back.
[man] Listen to me. Listen to me.
- Can I get you anything?
- I don't wanna see it, I just want some...
[man] Uh, one espresso.
Indulge me.
Oh my god, you're so
annoying sometimes, you know that?
What?
[man laughs] You know,
it's just something I wanna try.
[music intensifies]
- [scuffling thud]
- [Ivn grunts]
- [man] What are you up to, buddy? Huh?
- Easy now.
You've been here for days.
What do you want? Huh?
Check my backpack.
- Where?
- There, in the small one.
Ten thousand euros.
It's yours if you want it.
Okay, so what's 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.
[coughs]
[woman] If you don't want me upset,
you could have the courtesy
to take your ring off when you're with me.
- We'll talk in the room.
- [woman] You're impossible, you know that?
Uh, are you, uh... Spanish?
No, we're Japanese, honey.
[Ivn laughs]
I, uh... Listen, do you have a cigarette?
I can't buy them anywhere.
[woman] 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. [laughs]
Alright. You guys have fun.
- [woman] Oh, we will, honey.
- [man] Okay, come on.
you could at least try to be discrete.
[woman] Jealous? Are you upset?
You didn't seem upset...
- [man moaning]
- [Ivn chuckles]
- [man and woman moaning]
- [Ivn chuckles]
[man] Holy shit.
Yannick.
Ivn.
- You're not from around here, are you?
- I grew up in Madrid.
No kidding. Where?
Carabanchel.
Vallecas.
- [moaning continues on video]
- [Yannick laughs]
- 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?
[Ivn] Yannick wasn't
the brightest kid in class either.
But he had some skills.
[man grunts]
[Ivn] 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.
["Take Your Money" by Carlos Jean playing]
[crying out]
[both screaming]
[Ivn] The king of the fucking party.
[music continues]
[crowd cheering, chanting]
[cheering]
- [cheering, clapping]
- [music fades]
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 it.
You sure? It'll be a week, tops.
Don't worry about it.
Family is very important.
What do you think?
[Anne] Hmm.
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.
- [laughs]
[Ivn] Obviously, I had better things
to do than visit my parents.
- [glasses clinking]
- [party chatter]
[valet] Good afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon. Where's Mr. Ocaa?
Let me see... he's right over there, sir.
Okay, thanks.
[in French] Excuse me, Mr. Ocaa?
[in English] We have a gift for you.
It's a surprise.
[in French] This way, please.
Yeah, that's fine. Let's see
what Mohammed has for me.
[Ivn, in English]
Nothing like a few words in French
to catch a Spanish bumpkin.
[Ocaa] Are you sure
you have something for me?
[man and woman moaning]
Uh, alright, kids. Uh, alright.
Don't make your lives harder.
This is illegal.
I'm gonna have to call the police.
- [Ivn] 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.
[inhales] What do you want?
- [Ivn] Information.
- You got put up to this.
- You both journalists then?
- [Ivn] 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.
[Ocaa sighs]
[indistinct chatter]
Um... okay.
Uh... [sniffs]
...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.
[funky jazz music playing]
[Ivn] 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.
- [angry grunt]
[cameras clicking]
This is all I have.
I never spend it, actually.
Someone always gets the check for me.
It's, uh, always the same.
[music continues]
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.
[inhales] His nickname
is "Insatiable Plonker."
- [scoffs]
- 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 Ivn,
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? [laughs]
Yeah, anyway...
[Ivn] 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, Luca?
Who's that kid?
I have no idea,
but I'm gonna look into it.
- [Ivn] That...
- Great.
[Ivn] ...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.
[man] Everything you're saying is great.
But we've spent
many years working with Escmez.
We've never had any issues. And...
Well, it's obvious...
we don't know who you are.
[inhales] Uh...
Sure, sure.
Obviously, I mean, you don't know him.
Sure. Truth is,
no one knows this guy. That's it.
That's exactly why
Ivn's offer sounds prudent to me.
Well, plus, you know,
discretion and prudence don't seem
to be Escmez's virtues anymore,
if I may say so.
Uh, okay. Look... C... Come on, guys.
[false laugh] Goddamn it. He's my nephew.
He's trustworthy.
I would bet my life on him.
And not only that, even my money.
Uh... 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.
"Ocaa, can you please
rezone this land?" "Okay."
"Ocaa, the city
planning project." "Okay."
"Ocaa, 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 24 hours. What more do you want?
Folks, we're doing fine.
We're doing fucking great.
And we can do better.
But we need to have faith. We need faith.
[engine humming]
[tires screech]
GENEVA
That's a gold mine, you know?
[inhales] Escmez? I don't think
he'll like you stealing his clients.
Don't worry about Escmez.
There's enough for both of us.
Besides, we won't bother
any of his clients. I promise.
You're a pretty fast learner.
- I have the best teacher.
- [scoffs]
[Anne inhales deeply]
[sexy music playing]
- [Ivn] Leaving already?
- Yeah.
Franois is expecting me.
Christmas with the family.
Don't go.
Stay here with me.
Are you always such a high roller?
I want everything.
Well, I'm sorry.
[sighs]
[in French] I have to go.
[music continues]
[Ivn] This is for you.
[father coughs]
- And this is for you too.
- [mother laughs]
And this... for you, Pop.
[father] 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've seen my Porsche parked
out front? And check my watch out.
I don't know what you're up to, son,
but easy money? [scoffs]
I'm telling you that means trouble.
It's the opposite of trouble.
Money is the solution
to all kinds of trouble.
You think you're so clever.
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?
[inhales shakily]
At least I can sleep well
at night. With a clear conscience.
Look, I'm not interested in sleep.
I'd rather live my life.
- You'll regret it at some point.
- That's enough, stop it.
[father] Well...
[rasping cough]
He gets on my nerves!
[voice breaking]
I love it, son. Thank you so much.
- [man 1] Well, well. Look who's here.
- What's up?
- What's with the car?
- [Ivn] You know.
- Hey, man.
- What's up, Ivn?
Well, I mean... Don Ivn.
- 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.
- Hmm.
It's yours?
What does it say?
EL HUESO CONSTRUCTION
[upbeat swing music playing]
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.
[Ivn] Heaps of dirty money
kept flowing in.
[music continues]
[seagulls squawking]
[Luca] His name is Ivn Mrquez.
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?
Apparently, he's Ocaa's go-to guy
for any business in the area.
He's always with that Moroccan guy.
[inhales deeply]
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 24 hours.
Your identities will be protected.
- Escmez.
- Chechu, what's up? How are you?
- Your money will be too.
- [Chechu] Good.
Not many spots left, okay?
So, uh... think about it.
[Escmez]...the situation is critical.
- [Chechu] Yes, well...
- We'll need to discuss it, right?
[music continues]
[music fades]
- What are you doing here?
- What about you?
Hmm, you know. I'm here.
You look different.
Well, thanks.
You look as pretty as always.
[scoffs]
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 Hrcules, 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.
[Escmez] Ivn.
What a surprise. It's been a while.
- How are you?
- I'm fine.
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 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, Ivn.
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.
[tires screeching]
[Yannick tsk-tsks] Moron.
What the hell are you doing?
[Ivn] What's going on? Hey!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Okay, okay, take it... [grunts]
- [thud]
- [Yannick groaning]
[Ivn] Uh...
Be smart, kids. And leave Marbella.
- [car door slams]
- [grunts]
Ah!
[tires screeching]
[Ivn grunts]
- [Yannick] You okay?
- [Ivn] Are you?
- Ah!
- [Ivn] There you go. Come on.
[stifled groan]
[Ivn] We were in over our heads.
So we needed to change our strategy.
[door closes]
Well, I do have to admit
that you two have balls.
How are your injuries?
- Better.
- [Escmez] Any broken bones?
Those are the rules of the game.
[Ivn] 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 10% cut.
- A 30% cut.
- 20.
30% for the first two years,
and then 20% each year after that.
Deal.
Saint Peter rules paradise.
Nicely played, kid.
One more thing.
Stay away from my daughter.
[door closes]
[pulsating electronic music playing]
[Ivn] Life can be wonderful.
[Ivn] Here we go again.
[both panting, moaning]
[Ivn] And again.
Forget it, babe. He can't even get it up.
[music fades]
What are you doing here?
I need to speak with you.
[groans]
It's messy here, sorry.
We had a little party last night.
[grunts]
What's up?
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!
[exhales]
[Ivn clicks teeth]
I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry.
Ivn...
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?
[inhales]
Franois has just received a tip-off.
There's an investigation underway.
The police are after Escmez,
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, Ivn.
Hmm?
Thanks for the heads-up.
You're leaving?
Yes, I am.
Stay for a while.
Take care.
[somber music playing]
[sniffs]
[music builds]
For fuck's sake. Where's the fucking wire?
[nervous breathing]
Fuck, fuck.
[panting]
[music calms]
What? 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, Ivn.
- I'm not paranoid.
- You're paranoid.
- I'm not.
We were invited to the party of the year.
Huh?
The crme de la crme, Ivn. Relax, okay?
[sighs] Okay.
MALAGA
[dance music playing]
[Ivn] 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 really meet this week, Ivn.
- You can count on it.
Ivn, come here. Let me introduce you to...
What's up, Yannick, bud?
Look, let me introduce you to Carmen,
Mlaga's deputy mayor, okay?
Manolo, Environment.
- And Antonio, Industry in Seville.
- Nice to meet you.
His wife... Wait, wait, wait...
Joana... [laughs]...Joana.
[laughs] 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?
- [laughs]
My dad would kill me.
No way, come on. He loves you.
That's true. He would kill you.
You know, I don't think so.
I'm adding a lot to his fortune.
Hmm.
Gimme your hand.
[dance music continues]
Call me sometime,
and take me out to dinner
somewhere special.
[sniffs]
[sniffs, sighs]
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, Ivn. Huh?
- You want his guys coming after us?
- Look who's there.
Huh? Who was right?
[sniffs, coughs]
- I'll go talk to them.
- What are you doing?
[Yannick] Ivn.
Hey, I wanna talk to your boss.
We'll follow you, okay? [slaps car]
[Luca] Inspector.
Good morning. Come closer, please.
First of all, thanks a lot
for making yourselves available.
You're Ivn. You're Yannick.
I'm Inspector Manuel Roig,
and I'm the one
in charge of this investigation.
- The main reason...
- Wait, wait... what investigation?
[Roig] 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 you.
We've been following you
because we're pretty sure that, uh...
the two of you have been doing business
with Ocaa and also Escmez.
And why is that bad?
You're insulting my intelligence.
Don't play stupid with me.
You know perfectly well what they do.
- [Yannick] No.
- No?
- No, we don't know what they do.
- [Roig] Hmm.
[Ivn] Look, we just do public relations.
Our job involves
planning parties, big events...
We work with a lot of people, okay?
[Roig] That's a shame, Ivn.
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.
[inhales] 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 PRECINCDon't think about it, okay?
It was either them or us.
We're screwed, Ivn.
Tell me, why are we screwed?
Don't you see? When they arrest
that son of a bitch Escmez,
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, Ivn?
What's he gonna think
when he gets arrested and we don't?
Hmm?
Good luck to you, partner.
Gimme a hug, bro. Come on.
Hey, best of luck to you.
Take care.
[Ivn] The only solution was
to get out of the country.
All I needed was a good excuse.
[ringing tone]
- [woman] Hello?
- Leti.
Do you like surprises?
[Leticia laughs] I love surprises.
Then grab your passport.
[upbeat pop music playing]
Wow.
Is this for real? [laughs]
You know the good stuff, huh?
[music continues]
PARIS
Hey, I'm sorry, I just, uh,
I didn't see your calls. I'm sorry.
I'm in Paris.
[Ivn] Leticia told her dad
she was with me.
[Leticia] Dad...
[Ivn] She said she was old enough
to make her own decisions...
...my decisions now...
[Ivn] ...and we were going to
travel around Europe for a few weeks.
It was the perfect cover.
That way Escmez wouldn't get suspicious
when he got arrested and I didn't.
- Was he pissed off?
- [Leticia] A little...
but, uh, I told him I'm old enough
to make my own decisions.
[clicks teeth]
[chuckles]
- Is this for me?
- Open it.
[laughs]
[Ivn] Do you like it?
Hmm. I love it.
It's super, super beautiful.
- [Ivn] Flights, hotels, gifts...
- Wow.
[Ivn] That alibi
was costing me a fortune.
BRUSSELS
[Ivn] The money was going fast.
- [Ivn] Come on!
- [Leticia] Come on.
[Ivn] But what the hell?
What's money for if not for spending?
[Anne] Mm-hmm.
[both laugh]
Ivn?
Nice to see you.
Right back at you.
- And you must be Leticia.
- [Leticia] Mm-hmm.
Nice to meet you.
- You make a beautiful couple.
- [Ivn] Thanks.
Really?
How's Don Francisco?
You know, the usual. Super busy.
[Anne] I bet he's really happy.
With you and Ivn being together.
[Leticia] Hmm.
- [in French] Shall we go?
- Yes.
[Anne] Hmm.
[Franois] What's he doing here?
[in English] She's pretty.
She must've been stunning
back in the day, right?
I think she still is, don't you?
[Ivn] We were having a great time.
And I was just waiting
for everything to blow up.
[angry shouting]
[Ivn] 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.
[on TV] During their 12 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.
[angry crowd shouting on TV]
[Ivn] Leti.
- Hey.
- [on TV] The scheme started in 2005
- I have to go back to Madrid.
- ...led by the same man, Antonio Roca,
and a team formed by the Tax...
[Ivn] I can't go with you.
You know that, right?
I know.
[on TV] They had come together
in Madrid to strategize and investigate
both the structure
and the modus operandi of the schemers.
The people in custody are the former
Urban Planning advisor...
Behave yourself, okay?
...and mastermind of the plot,
Juan Antonio Roca, the mayor, Sol Yage,
and the deputy mayor,
Isabel Garca Marcos.
Operation Malaya has raised
all kinds of questions
about how it's possible to set up
such a complex...
[Ivn] With Leticia back home,
I could get back into the game.
It was time to raise the stakes.
[Ivn] What happened to Escmez
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.
[in French] He says he can take care
of his clients while Escmez is in prison.
The pawn wants to become king.
[in English] What did he say?
[sighs] Look, we have to disappear
for a little bit, Ivn.
Just until things cool down.
What about the money
that's supposed to get to Switzerland,
what about that?
[in French]
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.
[in English] He said
hard times are coming for us.
The bubble is about to burst, Ivn.
Europe's going to turn off the tap
while the financial crisis lasts.
What crisis?
They're building now more than ever.
Banks are throwing credit at everyone.
Right, precisely.
We have to disappear
for a while, alright? Trust me on this.
[Ivn] 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.
[techno music playing]
[both yelling]
[Ivn] The king of the party.
[music continues]
[Ivn] And the party lasted
as long as the money did.
- [music ends]
- [door opens]
What the hell are you doing in Madrid?
Asshole.
[door closes]
[cell rings]
Hey, Mom.
[mother] Ivn,
your father passed away.
[Ivn] 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.
[door opens]
I'm so sorry, Mom.
- [mother sobbing]
- I'm really sorry.
I'll give you
some time alone with your dad.
[somber music playing]
[inhales shakily]
[exhales]
[sniffles]
[Ivn] Franois was right.
Hard times were coming.
[explosion]
[explosion]
We could say that
the Spanish economy has just entered
the Champions League of the world economy.
[Ivn] The first major economic crisis
of the 21st century.
FOR SALE
[Ivn] The real estate bubble.
Lehman Brothers and all that crap.
[Zapatero] The, uh, circumstances are not
going to pose a significant impact
on the evolution of the Spanish economy.
[Ivn] 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 Mir.
- No! Wow!
- Are you serious?
- For real.
- Really?
- A Mir hanging on this guy's wall.
- Insane.
Pretty high-level stuff, huh?
- [Ivn] Mm-hmm.
- Totally.
Question for you. What about Pantoja?
- Did you get to meet her?
- [woman 1] Who is it?
[speaking Chinese]
- Pantoja, she's amazing.
- [women laugh]
- She really is. And so is Julin.
- [woman 2] I knew it.
- That's insane.
- [arguing in Chinese]
You should write a book, you know?
- I just might.
- [man 1] I should be in it.
[woman 2] That's right. All of us.
[woman 1] Let's toast. To Ivn.
Back in the neighborhood.
- To Ivn.
- Cheers.
- [man 1] So good to see you, bro.
- Yeah.
- [door closes]
- [Ivn] Hmm.
- Sergio, can I borrow your car?
- What for? Where are you going?
[tense rhythmic music playing]
[car alarm pings]
[Ivn] 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.
GROCERY STORE
[music continues]
[music builds]
I'll break all of your bones
if I ever see your face again.
Understood?
[music continues]
[Ivn laughs] Yep, completely understood.
[music fades]
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.
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.
[Ivn] Where is it from?
Wholesale importation.
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?
- [Ivn] Hmm.
- So he has to send them the rest
of the money in paper currency.
How do they do it?
The old-fashioned way.
[Ocaa] 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, you know, it's like with drugs.
How should I put it...?
Maybe one gets caught,
but ten get away with it.
- [Ivn] Hmm.
- And there's no shortage of Chinese. So...
- [both chuckle]
- Anyway. Look, Yao Ming.
He's pretty goddamn 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.
Ivn, don't forget about me.
I have my mortgage to deal with
and my daughter's tuition. Okay?
- Mm-hmm. Yeah, I got you.
- Appreciate it.
[Ivn] Dirty money. The magic words.
GENEVA
Ivn.
You look great.
I'm really happy to see you.
Thanks. Right back at you.
Champagne?
Uh... Water.
You serious?
[water pouring]
How's everything?
What have you been up to
the past few months?
Nothing too 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?
- Mm-hmm.
- 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.
We had an idea that...
[Ivn] 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.
[Ivn] 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 million?
[computer keys clicking]
Three.
[clicking continues]
[cell phone alert pings]
[Ivn] A sweet deal.
[Anne giggles]
[edgy jazz music playing]
[in French] Madame.
Young man.
[edgy jazz music continues]
[in English] Yannick. What's up, brother?
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.
[laughs]
Yeah. Yeah.
Listen, I could use a business partner.
Are you up for it?
[laughs] Perfect.
[music continues]
[counting machine whirring intensifies]
- Good evening.
- [valet] Good evening.
Thank you, sir.
[Ivn] 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?
- [Escmez] I'm good, good. Really good.
In fact, we're here to celebrate.
Judge dismissed the charges.
[Anne] Oh.
What about you, huh?
Rumor has it
you're working with Yao Ming now.
[laughs] Wow.
News travels fast, doesn't it?
[Escmez laughs]
Yeah. Watch out, okay?
Can't trust those guys.
Well, although, nowadays...
who can you trust?
[inhales]
[Escmez] Six months in jail,
a year and a half on probation...
Not a single visit, or a call from you.
[Anne] Paco.
We had to disappear.
[Escmez] Sure. Well,
I would've done the same.
But there is one thing
that I would never do.
I would never rat anyone out.
- [Ivn] Fucking asshole.
- Don't. Back off.
- Back off.
- [Anne] Ivn.
[chuckling]
See that?
Kid from the hood
has finally shown his true colors.
- Let's go.
- [Anne] Sure.
[Ivn] But Escmez 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.
[in French] I'm asking when!
Didn't he leave me any documents?
[Ivn, in English] Hey. What's the matter?
[gasps, in French] Motherfucker! Look!
THE "FALCIANI LIST," A MASSIVE FRAUD
[in English] What is this?
Who's Falciani?
He just leaked an entire list
of several secret bank accounts.
All of our clients are on it.
Okay, look, calm down.
Have you spoken to Stoffel?
Stoffel and Franois took all
the money and they ran off.
[panting]
They'll come after us.
Ivn.
We have to disappear.
Thanks.
[clicks teeth]
You gotta be fucking kidding me.
[engine accelerates]
[tires screech]
[police siren shrieks]
[gasping]
[tires screech]
[powerful acceleration]
- [tires screech]
- [Anne cries out]
[Anne] No, no. Please don't.
[man 1] Come on, move it.
Go, go, go, go, go, go!
- [Anne screams]
- [man 2] He said, let's go. Hurry up. Go!
- Get in the car.
- [Ivn] Okay, okay, okay.
Let's go! Drive, let's fucking go!
- [man 1] Come on, come on. Move it.
- [man 2] This way.
[Ivn] Easy, easy.
[man 1] Come on, let's go. Hurry up.
- Move, you piece of shit.
- [Ivn] 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.
[Ivn] We have nothing
to do with that, I swear.
I have informants in the police force.
I wanna know what you told the detective.
[panting] 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, Ivn.
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 on the police force.
Fuck. That was different, okay?
Escmez 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.
[in Chinese] Kill him!
[in English] No, no, no. Don't, don't.
Wait. Wait a second.
Okay? Listen to me, Yao.
What will you do with your money?
[Anne breathing shallowly]
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.
[breathes deeply]
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 3% of 1.55 billion is?
[Anne laughs]
Yeah.
46.5 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.
[breathes deeply, sniffs]
[edgy electronic music playing]
[music builds]
[metallic rumbling]
[clangs]
[helicopter whirring]
[panicked screaming]
[crowd screaming]
Ivn Mrquez.
This is an international warrant
issued by the Spanish authorities.
You are under arrest.
[Ivn] And the party was over.
[police shouting]
I want a lawyer.
Absolutely, of course you do.
That's your right, the law allows for it.
I'm sure at this point,
you're gonna have secured
one hell of a lawyer, won't you Ivn?
Yeah, the best.
Well, you know, your sentence will, uh...
probably be around 20 years,
and the best lawyer can get it down
to about, let's say, 15.
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.
[softly] One million euros.
One million euros in cash.
[whispers] Can you guarantee
the full amount in cash?
[Ivn] 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.
[scoffs]
[regular tone] 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
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 60 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, Ivn.
Unless I win the lottery,
but, unfortunately,
I never play the lottery.
I'll be out in 48 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 Escmez, right?
Or was it Yao? Who ratted me out?
[whispers] The offer we made her
was to pick either freedom or love.
That's bullshit.
[regular tone] You're a liar.
That's impossible.
Don't make that face, kid.
You would've done the same thing.
COURTHOUSE
[Ivn] Roig was right.
I would've done the same.
[man shouting] Police!
[on TV] So far, Operation Emperador
has resulted in 80 arrests
and 120 searches
targeting a corruption network
that managed to launder up to
1.22 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...
[Ivn] 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.
["Chivato" by Chango playing]
Those who are accountable
are the ones who should pay.
- [cameras clicking]
- That's enough.
THE PUBLIC SECTOR FRAUD
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
ERE IN ANDALUSIA
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
CUTS TO HEALTH AND EDUCATION
REMAIN IN PLACE TO THIS DAY
Deal with it, and do it,
and then just let it be.
THE VALUE OF ALL SPANIARDS' SAVINGS FELL
AND INEQUALITY SKYROCKETED
THE COURIER
["Take Your Money" by Carlos Jean playing]