Office of the Public Prosecutor General - Suspected member of financial fraud gang indicted
The Public Prosecutor's Office in Bamberg has charged a suspected member of an international band of online fraudsters. The 47-year-old man is accused of working on a comprehensive system of fraudulent online financial platforms, causing damages worth over a million euros, as a spokesperson for the Central Office Cybercrime Bavaria announced on a Wednesday.
In Germany alone, tens of thousands of investors were affected. The dark field in numerous other European countries is significant. The Public Prosecutor's Office accuses the man of working in a responsible position at several platforms between 2017 and 2021 and causing damages of around eight million Euros. He is said to have received roughly 166,000 Euros for his activities.
The group is believed to have offered various financial products for trading on the platforms. However, the money paid by potential customers was reportedly never used for investment but was instead withdrawn by the group. The money of the trusting investors was usually completely lost. The group is said to have operated call centers in Israel, Georgia, Moldova, and Armenia.
The 47-year-old suspect was arrested in Paris in July 2023 and has been in pre-trial detention in Bavaria since his extradition to Germany in December 2023. The indictment at the Regensburg Regional Court is for commercial and organized fraud in eight cases.
Four men and a woman, who are said to belong to the same group, were reportedly sentenced to total prison terms between two and a half years and five years and nine months in April and May 2023. Investigations against further alleged accomplices are still ongoing.
- The suspected fraudster, arrested in Paris in July 2023, was previously believed to have been operating from various platforms based in Bavaria, Germany.
- The Office of the Public Prosecutor General in Bamberg indicates that the losses due to this online crime stretch beyond Germany, reaching numerous other European countries, including France.
- Investigations suggest that the group behind this fraudulent activity offered financial products for trading on the platforms and misappropriated the funds paid by customers, often resulting in complete loss of investors' money.
- The 47-year-old suspect is facing charges at the Regensburg Regional Court for commercial and organized fraud in eight cases, with finances involving over a million euros in Germany alone and approximately eight million euros in total damages.
