Tag: Vladislav Smirnov

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.

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.

In Germany, the proceedings against the former lieutenants of the Israeli scammer Gal Barak, who has already been convicted in Austria for investment fraud and money laundering, continue. The Bamberg public prosecutor's office informed the victims of SafeMarkets, OptionStarsGlobal, and XtraderFX that charges have been brought against the Israelis Kfir Levy, Chen Ganon, and the Bulgarian Stoyan Ivanov Bedrov and how victims can participate in the proceedings!

In May 2021, Peter Weinzierl, the former CEO of the now-defunct Meinl Bank, was arrested on US charges at a London airfield after piloting his private jet. US officials investigating international money laundering believed he would hold “valuable information” about individuals in Russia and Ukraine. Weinziel said he was “lured” by a CIA agent to Britain to be more easily extradited to the US. He is expected to be extradited to the U.S.

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.

Gery Shalon, the cybercrime mastermind behind the online casino schemes, pump-and-dump schemes, and one of the partners of Gal Barak, returned to Israel after being allowed to leave US custody two years ago, his father Shota Shalelashvili allegedly said in an interview broadcast in the Republic of Georgia. Shalon was extradited from Israel in 2015 and faced 23 counts and potentially decades in prison. He also was accused of running global money-laundering operations.

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.

Novox Capital, once a CySEC-regulated company, operated some "regulated" binary options brands. Additionally, Novox provided services to numerous scam schemes and offered them a regulatory umbrella: Option888 of Uwe Lenhoff, OptionStars of Gal Barak, and many others. The beneficial owners of the Novox Group were the cousins' Shay Hillel and Yehoram Hillel. They were also the main shareholders of the broker software company Tradologic. Novox and the Hillels are also at the center of the various trials.

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.

The Royal Capitals broker scam is promoted via fraudulent crypto campaigns like Bit IQ and fake news articles. Anyone who registers there is automatically redirected to the scam's payment page. The operator of Royal Capitals is allegedly Shadlake Ltd, registered in Bulgaria. As facilitating payment processors, we found OpenUp, ArdelixPay, ChargeMoney, or RESET for credit card payments. They should stay far away and protect their financial health and data.

The 35-year-old Israeli Gal Barak has shown how helpless the E.U. is in the fight against cybercrime. Barak, along with U.S. defendant Gery Shalon and Russian Vladislav Smirnov, ran a global network of binary options and CFD broker scams, defrauding tens of thousands of victims of more than $200M. In Sept 2020, he was sentenced to a four-year prison term but released on bail after just one year. Upon his release, a private jet flew him to Israel, where he announced plans to launch a $20 million cybercrime fund to benefit from cybercrime energy!

The E&G Bulgaria Cybercrime Scheme is dealt with by German prosecutor Nino Goldbeck in Bamberg. The German prosecutor informed that the boiler room agent Sasa Siler has also been charged for allegedly defrauding German-speaking victims with OptionStarsGlobal, XTraderFX, or Trade Capital. The mastermind behind E&G Bulgaria was the Israeli Gal Barak with his wife Marina Barak and their partners Gery Shalon and Vladislav Smirnov.