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Two Israeli citizens under investigation for providing technological infrastructure for more than 30 fraudulent investment websites; one arrested in Cyprus, the other in Albania…
Germany deepens investigations into fraudulent schemes through call centers, while the German authorities also target Albania. The investigations, which began 6 years ago, are still ongoing and are expected to deepen further, while the extradition of two citizens who were arrested in Albania is expected.
After years of investigation, investigators in Bavaria have uncovered a suspected network that provided services to financial investment fraudsters. The operation involved a rented system, accessible worldwide, that included telephone and computer infrastructure, police in Nuremberg announced on Tuesday.
Two suspected executives of an IT company, Israeli citizens aged 42 and 46, are in custody. The 46-year-old was already indicted late last year.
According to the police, he was arrested in Cyprus and extradited about a year ago. The complex investigation into the network began about 6 years ago and has not yet been completed. Authorities say there are other suspects. The investigation is expected to last “for a long time.” The Central Prosecutor’s Office in Bamberg, which specializes in cybercrime, is also significantly involved in this process.
According to the indictment recently filed in the cybercrime chamber of the Land Court, the 46-year-old is suspected of having worked together with the younger suspect, arrested in Albania, for a company that, in return for payment, supplied more than 30 fraudulent websites with the necessary programs, as well as server and telephone infrastructure, German media writes .
The network reportedly operated from Israel and Ukraine.
The first traces of these criminal service providers emerged in 2019–2020, after the seizure of the servers of a fraudulent call center in Ukraine. An investigative commission at the Nuremberg police subsequently compiled data from more than 350 proceedings against investment fraudsters, who convinced victims via the Internet and telephone to invest with the promise of profits from trading securities or cryptocurrencies.
The known damage to victims in Germany alone amounts to 34 million euros. According to the authorities, the damage attributable to the defendant who has already been charged amounts to around 28.6 million euros and affects 235 victims.
He is suspected of having personally benefited from more than 1.1 million euros.
Meanwhile, the other 42-year-old suspect is still in Albania. The procedure for his extradition has not yet been completed.
In January, the Bamberg Public Prosecutor's Office, the Bavarian Central Cybercrime Office, filed an indictment against a person suspected of being the head of an internationally operating fraud ring known as the "Milton Group." In the German-speaking area alone, over 1,000 people are said to have fallen victim to the "Milton Group." Since people from Upper Franconia are also among the victims, the Criminal Police Inspectorate in Upper Franconia is intensively involved in the investigations that have been going on for years, as stated by Thomas Goger, Chief Prosecutor at the Bamberg Public Prosecutor's Office.
In cyber-trading scams, perpetrators presented victims with fake digital platforms for trading various financial instruments. “The invested capital was usually completely lost.”
Mikheil B. is said to have run a call center in Tirana (Albania) with around 600 employees from late 2014 to May 2019. “This call center distributed at least 28 platforms and harmed around 180 people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with a total damage of around eight million euros,” the judicial authority reports.
The real damage is thought to be many times higher. Seized accounting documents show that for the period January 2018 – May 2019 alone, the damage in Germany amounts to around ten million euros, while worldwide it is around 50 million euros.
Also, in 2017 and 2018, IT specialists commissioned by the defendant developed a fraudulent cyber-trading program called "PumaTS".
Under this program, clients have operated around 400 fraudulent platforms.
The defendant is suspected of having contributed to 540 people from the German-speaking area losing around 44 million euros. Here too, the hidden damage is thought to be significantly greater. For the period February 2019 – December 2020 alone, based on accounting documents, a total damage of at least 130 million euros is calculated.
In total, the Central Cybercrime Office attributes to the accused a proven damage from criminal reports of around 52 million euros and a hidden damage of around 180 million euros. B. himself is said to have benefited from around 29 million euros. /Pamphlet/
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