Cybercrime News & Investigations | FinTelegram FinTelegram News

Category: Cybercrime

April 24, 2025

THE GODFATHER OF DAVOS FALLS: KLAUS SCHWAB RESIGNS AMID EMERGING EMBEZZLEMENT SCANDAL

In a seismic blow to the global elite, Klaus Schwab, the 87-year-old mastermind behind the World Economic Forum (WEF), abruptly resigned as chairman on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025, only to be engulfed by a firestorm of allegations accusing him of embezzling WEF funds and fostering a toxic empire of elitism..

April 24, 2025

From Vienna With Scandal: The Case of Dutch Investor Adnan “Danny” Khan and Austria’s Toxic Nexus of Politics and Fraud!

From billionaire fraudster René Benko to luxury car collector and alleged fraudster Adnan “Danny” Khan, Vienna has become a stage for financial theatre of the absurd—backed by politicians, delayed by prosecutors, and often ignored until it’s too late. These aren’t just local scandals—they’re systemic failures with implications for financial stability across the EU. And behind them all, Austrian justice plays a curiously selective role.

April 23, 2025

The Unraveling of Rabidi and the Rise of the SoftSwiss Network: Our Updated Forensic Report

A few months ago, FinTelegram released a first forensic report on the bankruptcy of Rabidi N.V., a Curacao-registered online casino operator with hundreds of millions in revenues — and no traceable assets by the time of its collapse in May 2024. That report already raised serious questions about the opaque structures behind Rabidi’s operations and its successor, Liernin Enterprises Ltd.

April 21, 2025

Prison Update: Sam Bankman-Fried Transferred to Low-Security Federal Prison in Los Angeles!

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Terminal Island in Los Angeles, California. This low-security facility is known for housing non-violent offenders and has previously held notable inmates such as Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, former COO of Theranos.

April 16, 2025

Financial Intelligence Update: UK Lawsuit Against Google for Search Dominance Abuse

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has long dominated the global search engine market, commanding around 90% of global market share and an even higher percentage on mobile devices. This dominance has made Google the default gateway to the internet for billions of users and a critical platform for advertisers. However, such market power has drawn increasing scrutiny from regulators worldwide.

Rug Pull

April 14, 2025

Crypto Intelligence Update: Investigating the Mantra Token Collapse and Founders Wallet Hack Rumors

The Mantra (OM) token, native to the MANTRA Chain—a Layer 1 blockchain focused on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization—suffered a catastrophic 90% price collapse on April 13, 2025, erasing over $5.5 billion in market capitalization within hours. Rumors have circulated within the crypto community, particularly on platforms like X, suggesting that a hack of the Founders Wallet may have triggered the crash.

April 12, 2025

From Unicorns to Orange Jumpsuits: Charlie Javice’s Conviction Exposes Startup Fraud Epidemic

The U.S. national Charlie Javice, founder of college financial aid startup Frank, was convicted on March 28, 2025, on four felony counts: securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. The Manhattan federal jury found that Javice deceived JPMorgan Chase into acquiring Frank in 2021 by inflating its user base from 300,000 to 4.25 million, fabricating customer lists, and directing staff to falsify data.

April 11, 2025

Cybercrime Update: Cryptocurrency-Related Financial Crime Trends (2024-2025)

In 2024, the volume of illicit cryptocurrency transactions fell to approximately $45 billion, a 24% decline from 2023. However, analysts caution that this figure may rise as ongoing investigations uncover additional activity, TRM labs says in its 2025 rypto crime report. Sanctioned entities accounted for 33% of illicit crypto volume, surpassing scams, fraud, and blocklisted addresses.

April 9, 2025

Update: Gold, Foundations, and a Web of Influence – New Developments in the Benko Case!

As FinTelegram previously reported, the pre-trial detention of Austrian real estate magnate Rene Benko has been extended by another two months. But while Benko remains in custody, the investigators' attention is increasingly drawn to a suspiciously well-funded foundation in Liechtenstein — and to the opaque network surrounding the SilverArrow Capital Group and WEC.

April 8, 2025

Update: Austrian Real Estate Tycoon Rene Benko Must Remain in Custody – FinTelegram Investigations in Focus

Vienna, April 2025 – The legal noose around Rene Benko, once hailed as one of Europe’s most influential real estate moguls, is tightening. The Vienna Regional Criminal Court has again extended his pre-trial detention by another two months. According to the court, there remains strong suspicion and a significant risk of the crime being committed again.

April 7, 2025

Financial Intelligence Update: Garantex and Its Successor, Grinex

Following the shutdown of the Russian crypto exchange Garantex in March 2025, evidence has emerged that its operations have been seamlessly continued under a new platform, Grinex. Despite sanctions and frozen wallets, Grinex has already processed over $29 million in transactions by mid-March 2025, according to an investigation by Swiss blockchain analytics firm Global Ledger.

April 5, 2025

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Crypto Wallets Tied to Russian Exchange and Houthi Terror Network

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned eight crypto wallets tied to the Russian crypto exchange Garantex and Yemen’s Houthi militant group. Blockchain intelligence firms Chainalysis and TRM Labs uncovered nearly $1 billion in suspicious crypto transactions linked to terror financing, including attacks on civilian and military vessels in the Red Sea. This move highlights the growing intersection between digital assets and global conflict zones.

Wirecard’s Jan Marsalek Confirmed as Russian Spy Mastermind in UK Espionage Conviction

A London court has delivered a seismic verdict in the ongoing saga of Wirecard, the collapsed German fintech giant: six Bulgarian nationals have been convicted and sentenced for spying on behalf of Russian intelligence, acting under the direct orders of Wirecard’s fugitive former COO, Jan Marsalek. This marks the first time a court has definitively established that Wirecard, under Marsalek’s leadership.

Odebrecht Scandal: Former BankerPeter Weinzierl Extradited to U.S., Held Without Bail in Brooklyn Jail

Former Meinl Bank CEO Peter Weinzierl has been extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States and is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. The 59-year-old Austrian banker faces charges related to his alleged involvement in laundering over $170 million in bribes connected to the Odebrecht corruption scandal.

KBH Andelskasse Conviction Exposes Deep-Rooted Fintech-Driven Money Laundering Network

The recent conviction of former KBH Andelskasse CEO Bo Stengaard marks a pivotal yet incomplete chapter in one of Denmark’s most alarming money laundering scandals. While Danish media focuses on Stengaard’s four-month suspended sentence, a broader compliance investigation reveals a sophisticated network involving payment firms Clearhaus and FCA-regulated Moorwand.

Speculative Buy (With Guts)

The Invisible Backbone of Web3: Is Aleph.im the Missing Link Between DeFi and AI?

Aleph.im is one of the most underrated infrastructure plays in Web3 — offering decentralized compute, storage, and indexing services that could power the next wave of AI x DeFi applications. Unlike most layer-1 vanity projects, Aleph.im solves real problems for real dApps: it lets decentralized applications operate without relying on centralized backends like AWS.

Startup on Trial

Startup on Trial: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos – Visionary or Fraudster? The Final Appeal Denied

Elizabeth Holmes, once celebrated as the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire, is now serving an 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors in her blood-testing startup, Theranos. In May 2025, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dealt her what may be the final legal blow, denying her bid to have her 2022 conviction reheard.