Vladislav Smirnov | FinTelegram News

Tag: Vladislav Smirnov

October 12, 2021

Prosecutors filed the indictment against Israeli cybercrime lieutenant Jacki Fitelzon

We already reported a few weeks ago about the upcoming indictment of Israeli Tal-Jacki Zecharia Fitelzon. The 44-year-old guy was a lieutenant of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria of Gal Barak, the "Wolf of Sofia." The latter was sentenced to four years in prison in Vienna in September 2020. The Central Office Cybercrime Bavaria (ZKB) has filed charges against Fitelzon for defrauding 335 German victims of approximately €8.7 million. Fitelzon must now face a trial in Munich. Further charges surrounding E&G Bulgaria will follow.

September 16, 2021

Gery Shalon – The Plea Deal and the forfeited fortune of a cybercrime mastermind

In 2015, U.S. prosecutors charged the Georgia-born Israeli citizen Gery "Gabi" Shalon in a twenty-three count Superseding Indictment. He was charged with computer hacking, securities fraud, aggravated identity theft, illegal online gambling, illegal money transmitting business, and money laundering. Most of the files are still unsealed. What is known now is that in April 2017, Shalon has pled guilty to all 23 counts and made a plea deal with prosecutors that included transferring all seized funds and assets to the United States. We are talking about a real big fortune. We are talking about a real big fortune including a $74.7M bank account.

August 21, 2021

Background Report – International cybercrime, Bet90, and the dirty Maltese connections!

It was perhaps the largest cybercrime organization in Europe, but certainly, it was in Germany. The public prosecutor's office announced that the cybercrime case surrounding the German Uwe Lenhoff, who died in prison, had produced more than 200,000 victims in Germany alone. Lenhoff and Dutch real estate investor Dirk-Jan Bakker established Veltyco Group PLC, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. After Lenhoff's death, the company was renamed B90 Holdings PLC and operates the Bet90 sportsbook platform , licensed by the MGA. Bet90 has been funded with money stolen from the victims in this very same cybercrime case.

August 17, 2021

Israeli-German-Dutch scam network allegedly produced more than 200,000 victims in Germany

In September 2021, the Israeli cybercrime kingpin Gal Barak was sentenced to four years in prison for investment fraud and money laundering in Austria. German prosecutors, led by Nino Goldberg, also want to charge Gal Barak, see him convicted and sentenced to prison. Barak appealed against the indictment; the case is currently before the European Court of Justice. Barak's former boiler room manager Tal-Jacki Fitelzon has already been indicted. Barak's former partner in crime, Uwe Lenhoff, died in prison last year, but his co-conspirators will be indicted. Barak and Lenhoff allegedly produced more than 200,000 victims in Germany!

July 16, 2021

Cybercrime Trials – Gal Barak’s wife acquitted but more charges to come!

E&G Bulgaria allegedly defrauded tens of thousands of consumers in Europe out of more than €200 million with its scams According to law enforcement agencies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the principals of this organization were Israelis Gal Barak and Gery Shalon and their Russian partner Vladislav Smirnov. Barak was sentenced in Austria in September 2020 to four years in prison and restitution payments in the millions for investment fraud and money laundering. His wife, Marina Barak, who was also charged, was acquitted; the prosecutors appealed.

June 25, 2021

Unbelievable! German court denies justice for German victims of Gal Barak

Israeli Gal Barak was one of three principals of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria. Barak's Bulgarian wife, Marina Barak (formerly Marina Andreeva), served as chief financial officer. Gal Barak was arrested in early 2019 and sentenced to four years in prison for investment fraud and money laundering in Vienna, Austria, in September 2020. He was to be extradited to Germany for further charges but was silently released nearly six weeks ago and vanished to Israel in a private jet.

June 14, 2021

R4I – Connectum, Walletto, and the money laundering connections to Russian Binex Group

The former CEO and beneficial owner of FCA-regulated Connectum Limited, Latvian Edgars Lasmanis has joined Walletto UAB, a regulated Lithuanian e-money institution, as chairman of the supervisory board. He has held this role since October 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile. Lasmanis resigned as director and CEO of Connectum in January 2021, according to UK Companies House. Connectum, in turn, has had a central role in the money laundering of Binex Group LP around the E&G Bulgaria cybercrime organization of Gal Barak, Gery Shalon, and Vladislav Smirnov.

May 26, 2021

The background story of Austrian Meinl Bank and its now arrested CEO

Austria's Meinl Bank was notorious for its role in the international money laundering scene. In September 2020, FinTelegram reported that a significant portion of the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS) revealed by the FinCEN Leaks involved Austrian Meinl Bank and its subsidiary Meinl Bank Antigua. In addition, the OCCRP report titled The Vienna Bank Job revealed that the bank laundered hundreds of millions from Ukraine. Furthermore, cybercrime activists such as Russian Vladislav Smirnov also used Meinl Bank for his business. Meinl Bank has since closed; its former CEO, Peter Weinzierl, was arrested yesterday in the UK.

May 13, 2021

Vienna Cybercrime Trial – The Know-Nothing Accountant; Part One!

The Bulgarian Marina Barak is a brilliant and charming woman. She holds a degree in economics and worked in the financial field in London. Besides her native Bulgarian, she speaks perfect English and undoubtedly has a talent for numbers and organization. From at least 2016 to 2019, she was the chief financial officer and chief accountant of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria EOOD in Sofia, Bulgaria. Her husband, the Israeli Gal Barak, was one of the organization's principal and operated illegal and fraudulent broker brands along with boiler rooms in Bulgaria, Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine, or Bosnia and Herzegovina with his Israeli leadership team.

April 22, 2021

Chasing Scam Facilitators – The Vienna Cybercrime Trials, SpotOption, and PandaTS

Israeli Gal Barak was sentenced in September 2020 to four years in prison and millions in restitution payments for investment fraud and money laundering in the Vienna Cybercrime Trials. Barak also faces charges in Germany. He was the head of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria, which operated broker scams such as XtraderFX, SafeMarkets, Golden Markets, or OptionStarsGlobal. Payvision was its main payment facilitator, and PandaTS, the white label provider, which Barak charges with similar arguments as the U.S. SEC does in its SpotOption fraud complaint.

March 15, 2021

Vienna Cybercrime Trials – Former Cybercrime CFO Marina Barak opts for “I was in love” strategy

In his opening statement, the prosecutor claims that Marina Barak, along with her husband Gal Barak, was the key person in the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria. For example, she assigned the shifts in the boiler rooms, kept the personnel files, and organized the money laundering. She was also responsible for appointing partly homeless people as directors at the Legal Entities to operate the scam brands. According to the prosecution's findings, Marina Barak continued the scam operations after her husband's arrest.

March 11, 2021

Vienna Cybercrime Trials against former CFO Marina Barak start next week!

Gal Barak was found guilty as charged in early September 2020 as the head of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria for investment fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to four years in prison. Also, millions of Euros frozen in Bulgarian bank accounts were confiscated for restitution payments. Barak is about to be extradited to Germany, where he is also charged with operating the fraudulent brokers. His partner and wife, Bulgarian Marina Barak, will stand trial as his accomplice and CFO of E&G Bulgaria. She is expected to plead not guilty.