Tag: E&G Bulgaria

A CryptoTicker report resurfaced concerns about PR-distribution brands Chainwire/FinanceWire/MediaFuse and their CEO/co-founder Nadav Dakner, pointing back to the Gladius Network ICO case and alleged ties that ripple into the Gery Shalon–Vladimir Smirnov–Gal Barak cyber-fraud complex. We review the record, separate allegations from facts, and spell out the compliance red flags.

In March 2022, the Seychelles Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit involving Oldypak Capital LP and GV Holdings Limited against Tempox Holdings Limited (formerly Tradologic HK Limited), Ilan Tzorya, and DTI Group Inc. This case further implicates the beneficial owners of the plaintiffs, Gery Shalon and Vladislav Smirnov, in the massive cybercrime operation surrounding E&G Bulgaria and Tradologic.

Here's an update on the E&G Bulgaria cybercrime case involving Israelis Gal Barak and Gery Shalon. FinTelegram has been instrumental in uncovering and providing crucial whistleblower information, which led to Barak's arrest in early 2019. While Barak and several of his associates have already been sentenced, further charges are anticipated, potentially implicating Gery Shalon as the true mastermind behind Barak's operations.

In a dramatic unraveling that has captured the attention of the global financial cybercrime crime scene, Gery "Gabi" Shalon, a Georgia-born Israeli citizen, stands as a significant figure. Charged in a 23 count Indictment by U.S. prosecutors on November 9, 2015, Shalon's alleged crimes span computer hacking, securities fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegal online gambling, illegal money transmitting business, and money laundering.

Nino Goldbeck became known to FinTelegram readers as the chief prosecutor of Gal Barak, a/k/a, Wolf of Sofia, and his cybercrime organization in Germany. The Association of German Criminal Investigators recently awarded Goldbeck its highest honor, "Bul le mérite." However, the honor of crashing the Wolf of Sofia's cybercrime organization belongs not only to Goldbeck but also to an enabling whistleblower who exposed the fraud via FinTelegram. Here is the true story.

Gal Barak, an Israeli cybercrime mastermind, sentenced to four years in prison in Vienna in Sept 2020 for investment fraud and money laundering, was charged in Germany in 2021. His Austrian lawyer appealed the extradition, citing the principle of ne bis in idem. In March 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Barak could be charged in Germany. The German Court still works on the new schedule. Hence, victims are still waiting for justice and restitution payments!

We reported yesterday on the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the Gal Barak case. In 2020, he was convicted and sentenced for investment fraud and money laundering in Austria; additional charges are possible in other jurisdictions. In Germany, Gal Barak and his wife, Marina Barak, are to be charged as ringleaders of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria. Barak had entered a ne bis in idem plea. Apparently unsuccessfully. Thus, German prosecutors can proceed with their charges.

In Austria, another trial in the environment of Israeli Gal Barak's cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria will begin in a few weeks. Barak was sentenced in 2020 for investment fraud and money laundering to several years of imprisonment and about €4 million in restitution payments that he has not paid yet. Criminal records show that Gal Barak, his wife, Marina Barak, and his partners, Gery Shalon and Vladislav Smirnov, earned around €38 million between 2017 and 2019 alone.

The news is actually not really new anymore. The Israeli Chen Ganon was arrested in Cyprus a few weeks ago at the request of the German public prosecutor's office. Ganon was one of the managers in Gal Barak's cybercrime organization. He was responsible for the broker scam SafeMarkets and has worked in the boiler rooms in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. We spoke with Ganon several times in 2018, and he confirmed the allegations against Gal Barak and E&G Bulgaria.

More trials against binary options scam operators or their facilitators coming up in the first half of 2023. The former beneficial owners of the (then) CySEC-regulated Novox Capital Ltd are also in the spotlight: the Israelis Shay Hillel, Yehoram Hillel, and their partner and frontman Israel Bash. They are currently not charged however the prosecution alleges that their Novox Capital had been massively involved in running and facilitating vast binary options scams. Gal Barak and his cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria were a close partner and client of Novox Capital.

Israeli Gal Barak, as principal of the E&G Bulgaria cybercrime organization, was sentenced in Vienna in September 2020 to several years in prison and more than €4 million in restitution. He was released on parole in the fall of 2021 and reportedly returned to Israel by private jet. There he established the Vantage Fund for convicted cybercriminals. His lieutenant Maor Sioni recently got married in Israel. Gal Barak plus his E&G Bulgaria gang were invited and pictured.

Unfortunately, the international payment processor industry is crowded with bad actors facilitating cybercrime and laundering their money. Payvision was one of them. Founded by Rudolf Booker in 2002, Payvision has been facilitating cybercrime organizations like E&G Bulgaria and their broker scams. Gal Barak and other ringleaders have been convicted of investment fraud and money laundering by courts in Germany and Austria. It was found that Payvision was one of the key facilitators who knowingly and willingly participated in the fraud. Payvision should be liable to the victims and fully compensate the victims. EFRI is coordinating the corresponding lawsuits.