Woman arrested in Spain was posing as UN women's rep

Police in Spain arrested Thursday a woman who posed as the president of the Spanish branch of the United Nations' agency on women, soliciting funds and deceiving several major media outlets.

Officers detained the Spanish national of Nigerian origin in Denia on Spain's eastern Mediterranean coast for suspected fraud and impersonation, police said in a statement.

She "took part in conferences and media interviews claiming to be the president of UN Women in Spain," the statement said.

The woman offered online legal courses and allegedly asked for funds for projects linked to the UN body, it added.

Several major Spanish media outlets had presented or cited her as the president of UN Women in Spain.

According to the webpage of New York-based UN Women, there is no representative of the organisation in Spain.

The body is "dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women" and it is currently headed by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, a former deputy president of South Africa.

Police said they launched their investigation in 2018 after receiving a complaint about the woman from UN Women, which is "dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women."