Overview of the Case
The ongoing trial in Munich, Germany, targets the leaders of the Israeli cybercrime group E&G Bulgaria, headed by Gal Barak. Recently, Barak’s associate Jacki Fitelzon was sentenced to 82 months in prison, while Kfir Levy is expected to face trial soon. Barak himself was sentenced to four years in prison in Vienna in September 2020.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Saarbrücken are preparing charges against several figures connected to the late Uwe Lenhoff and the Veltyco Group. Evidence shows that MoneyNetInt played a central role in laundering funds for Lenhoff’s operations.
Case Key Data
|
Category |
Details |
|
Case File |
Uwe Lenhoff and Veltyco Group |
|
Cybercrime Sector |
Online gambling, lottery, and brokerage |
|
Related Case |
Gal Barak and E&G Bulgaria |
|
Key Individuals |
Uwe Lenhoff, Hans Dahlgren, Betim Tasholli, Marcel Noordeloos, Marko Vujosevic, Lazar Hoppl, Gal Barak, Gery Shalon, Ilan Tzorya, Martina Shishkova |
|
Involved Entities |
Winslet Enterprises EOOD (Bulgaria), Savora Consulting EOOD (Bulgaria), Veltyco Group PLC → Bet90 Holdings PLC (Isle of Man), Velty Bulgaria (Bulgaria), Quasar Holdings Ltd (Malta), Payific Ltd (Malta), Bet 90 Sports Ltd (Malta), Global Payment Solutions Podgorica DOO (Montenegro), Velmont MNE (Montenegro), Hithcliff Ltd (UK), Celestial Trading Ltd (UK), Celtic Pay Ltd (UK), Altair Entertainment N.V. (Curacao), Silkline Group shpk (Kosovo), Silkline Marketing Ltd (Cyprus), Capital Force Ltd (Samoa), SoftLotto Ltd (Cyprus), Tunegames Holding Ltd (Cyprus), Tunegames Marketing Ltd (Cyprus), Fendrino Ltd (Cyprus), Varkasso EOOD (Bulgaria) |
|
Brands |
LottoPalace, KulBet, Bet90, Option888, XMarkets, TradoVest, TradeInvest90 |
|
Payment Processors |
Payvision, MoneyNetInt, xTrabit, DreamsPay, B2G |
The Cybercrime Network
Uwe Lenhoff, closely connected to Gal Barak, Gery Shalon, and Vladislav Smirnov, built one of Europe’s largest cybercrime networks. Although E&G Bulgaria and Veltyco Group were separate organizations, they shared infrastructure and resources.
Key elements of the scheme included:
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Global Payment Solutions Podgorica DOO in Montenegro, created by Lenhoff and Barak, which was used to launder millions in stolen customer funds.
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Tradologic, a white-label broker software platform, partly owned by Lenhoff, Barak, Shalon, and Smirnov, powering fraudulent brands such as Option888.
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Lenhoff’s expansion into online lotteries with LottoPalace.
In summer 2020, Lenhoff was found dead in his prison cell under unclear circumstances. Whether murder or suicide, authorities have not ruled out either. Nonetheless, charges against the remaining ringleaders are moving forward. Prosecutor Victoria Haenel has described the case as one of the most important online fraud proceedings in Germany and across Europe.
The MoneyNetInt Connection
Documents reviewed by the Scam-Or Project reveal that alongside Global Payment Solutions, MoneyNetInt Ltd played a significant role in laundering money for Lenhoff’s operations.
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MoneyNetInt, regulated by the UK’s FCA under reference number 900190, is controlled by the Israeli Trif family and Raphael Golan.
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Hithcliff Ltd, one of Lenhoff’s UK-based companies, was registered as a merchant with MoneyNetInt. Through this setup, millions were funneled to the Bulgarian company Savora Consulting EOOD.
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Hithcliff Ltd (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk), founded in 2013, ran several of Lenhoff’s binary options scams including Option888, XMarkets, ZoomTrader, TradoVest, and TradeInvest90.
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Additional Bulgarian entities, Winslet Enterprises EOOD and Savora Consulting EOOD, were also heavily used to launder funds through MoneyNetInt.
What’s Next?
It remains uncertain when the next trials will begin and which additional individuals will face charges. Investigations are ongoing, and new evidence continues to surface.
The Scam-Or Project will provide further updates as the case develops.