The European Fund Recovery Initiative, a Vienna-based non-profit organization dedicated to assisting fraud victims, has officially filed a money laundering complaint against Deutsche Handelsbank and the PPRO Group. The complaint, backed by substantial documentation, was delivered to both Germany’s financial regulator BaFin and the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Munich. These two institutions are prominently referenced in the case files of the Vienna Cybercrime Trials (#VCT)—one of the most significant cybercrime investigations currently underway in the EU. #VCT: A Landmark Legal Battle Against Cybercrime The Vienna Cybercrime Trials refer to a complex network of legal proceedings involving members of the E&G…
Author: Tom
Background: From LottoPalace to Cross-Border Raids Up until spring 2019, the fraudulent LottoPalace website was actively scamming German-speaking victims. Shortly after the arrest of German scam ringleader Uwe Lenhoff, the site disappeared. Lenhoff, who ran call center operations through Silkline Group sh.p.k. in Kosovo, was found dead in his jail cell in July 2020, before formal charges were brought. The cause of his death remains unknown. Lenhoff was not the only figure using Kosovo as a hub for scam operations. In November 2020, law enforcement agencies from both Germany and Kosovo carried out a coordinated raid targeting another call center…
What Are the Vienna Cybercrime Trials? The term Vienna Cybercrime Trials (VCT) is not an official legal designation but rather a label used by Scam-Or Project to describe a series of judicial proceedings involving the E&G Bulgaria cybercrime network. In September 2020, Gal Barak, an Israeli national, was found guilty of leading this criminal enterprise. The Austrian court sentenced him to four years in prison, ordered restitution to victims, and declared the seizure of €2.5 million in illicit gains. Scam-Or Project has reported that this case is just the beginning—additional indictments and legal actions are expected under the VCT umbrella.…
Shooting Incident Targets Key Figure in Fraud Network Reports from media sources in Belgrade, Serbia, confirm a shooting attack early this morning targeting local attorney Marko Vujosevic. Although he survived the assault without physical injury, he is said to be severely shaken. Vujosevic is known as the founder and administrator of Global Payment Solutions Podgorica, a Montenegro-registered entity. This company allegedly operated as an unauthorized payment processor for notorious scammers Uwe Lenhoff and Gal Barak. Barak was sentenced to four years in prison in the high-profile Vienna Cybercrime Trials (VCT). Lenhoff, however, died in custody before the legal proceedings began.…
German Payment Processors Still a Haven for Scammers Unauthorized payment processors based in Germany continue to be widely used by international fraud rings. Entities such as B2G, operated by Rainer Treuer and his associate Oleg Shvartsman from Russia, have helped funnel tens of millions of euros through scam operations involving figures like Gal Barak and Uwe Lenhoff—resulting in major financial losses for thousands of small investors. Among the latest enforcement actions, the German regulator BaFin issued a Cease and Desist Order in October 2020 against Egramming GmbH, a Berlin-registered company accused of facilitating fraudulent schemes, including the crypto scam Capital…
Gal Barak and the E&G Bulgaria Operation In September 2020, Israeli national Gal Barak was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay millions in restitution for investment fraud and money laundering during the Vienna Cybercrime Trials. Barak, who also faces charges in Germany, was the head of the notorious cybercrime group E&G Bulgaria, which operated fraudulent broker sites such as: XtraderFX SafeMarkets Golden Markets OptionStarsGlobal Two critical partners enabled this network: Payvision, which served as the main payment processor PandaTS, a white-label trading software provider that Barak claims functioned similarly to SpotOption, as alleged in the U.S.…
Deceptive Emails and False Promises Another day, another misleading message—this time from Jason Voghel, using the email address [email protected]. In fact, Jason seems to operate from multiple email accounts. Today’s offer? “Big Money” just for activating your account. The provided link redirects to a fraudulent EUROMONEY article, hosted on the Russian domain https://lhfrist.ru. The article is part of a deceptive marketing strategy promoting the Lottery Heroes scheme. Users who attempt to register are ultimately directed to the lottery betting platform Lottery Heroes (www.lotteryheroes.com). Who Operates Lottery Heroes? Though it presents itself as a legitimate lottery betting service, Lottery Heroes is…
Legal Scrutiny Expands Across Germany and Austria Payvision and its former CEO Rudolf Booker are currently under formal criminal investigation in both Germany and Austria. These legal actions stem from the exposure of Uwe Lenhoff, a suspected leader of a cybercrime ring, who was taken into custody in January 2019. Lenhoff, known to have had both personal and professional ties with Booker, was introduced to him by a real estate investor based in Amsterdam. Lenhoff later died in detention under unclear circumstances in July 2020. Following his death, prosecutors have moved forward with criminal charges against Payvision and its executives,…
The Role of Shell Companies in Cybercrime In the world of cybercrime, fraud networks rely heavily on fictitious companies and unauthorized payment processors to launder illicit funds. These operations typically channel victim deposits from scams through fake businesses, masking the origin of the money. Germany has become a hotspot for such setups, with many front companies offering bank accounts that enable money laundering under false pretenses. In a recent development, the German regulator BaFin has issued Cease and Desist Orders targeting two such entities: Widestep GmbH and WebMaster Solutions GmbH. Cease and Desist Orders: Who’s Involved? Widestep GmbH Officially listed…
A History of Controversy: Deutsche Handelsbank Under Scrutiny Deutsche Handelsbank, long under the spotlight of Scam-Or Project, is reportedly preparing to shut down its payment division, following years of association with scam operations and cybercrime networks. Comparable to ING’s Payvision and the defunct Wirecard, the bank has often been accused of enabling financial crime through lax oversight. Among its clients was Uwe Lenhoff, the late fraudster behind the LottoPalace scam, who allegedly used the bank to launder significant proceeds. According to Handelsblatt, a respected German publication, the bank is now preparing to close this controversial business unit. Evidence of Involvement…