The Cybercrime Legacy: A Mastermind Dead, A Lieutenant Convicted – But Where Are the Facilitators?

In April 2025, Mohamad Shaker — the head of the largest boiler room in German cybercriminal Uwe Lenhoff’s vast cybercrime empire — was sentenced to 8 years in prison by a German court. Shaker’s conviction marks another milestone in dismantling one of Europe’s largest cybercrime organizations. Yet, while some lieutenants have faced justice, the key facilitators — including executives of Payvision and the Amsterdam-based money laundering network — remain untouched. Lenhoff died in prison in 2020 under suspicious circumstances before he could testify fully.

Key Points

• Boiler Room Boss Sentenced: Mohamad Shaker, head of a Prague-based boiler room with 200+ employees, received an 8-year sentence for gang-based commercial fraud.
• Fraud Worth Hundreds of Millions: Lenhoff’s network used fraudulent platforms (Option888, ZoomTrader, etc.) to defraud European investors of hundreds of millions of euros.
• Money Laundering via Payvision: Amsterdam-based Payvision, operated by Rudolf Booker, was instrumental in laundering stolen investor funds — yet no charges have been filed.
• CryptoDaily and GPS as Laundering Vehicles: Lenhoff also used CryptoDaily and Global Payment Solutions Podgorica (GPS) as laundering tools in cooperation with other cybercriminals.
• Suspicious Death, Unfinished Case: Lenhoff died in custody in 2020 before a full trial. Authorities have yet to prosecute most of his network, especially facilitators in Amsterdam.

Short Narrative

Mohamad Shaker, a key lieutenant of German cybercriminal Uwe Lenhoff, has been sentenced to eight years in prison in Germany. Shaker ran the largest boiler room in Lenhoff’s empire from Prague, employing over 200 staff to defraud investors through platforms like Option888 and ZoomTrader.

Between 2016 and 2019, the operation caused at least €40 million in losses to German investors alone. The conviction follows years of delayed justice in Europe’s most complex cybercrime case. Lenhoff, who was arrested in 2019, died in a German prison in 2020 under unexplained circumstances — conveniently before prosecutors could complete their case. He had reportedly cooperated with authorities and was considered highly talkative.

Extended Analysis

Structure of the Lenhoff Cybercrime Network

Uwe Lenhoff, a German national, was the mastermind behind a sprawling network of fraudulent trading platforms and money laundering schemes. His organization operated under the guise of the listed Veltyco Group and used multiple boiler rooms across Europe. Key call centers were in Prague (run by Shaker) and Pristina (run by Betim Tasholli and Azem Spahiu). The Prague center employed over 200 agents who impersonated financial advisors to lure victims into fraudulent investments.

In 2022, the Saarbrücken Regional Court sentenced 29-year-old Azem Spahiu to twelve years in prison for his role in the Lenhoff cybercrime organization. It is one of the longest prison sentences ever handed down in a fraud case in Germany. According to the court, Spahiu was a high-ranking member of the Lenhoff gang that defrauded private investors of their money using rigged financial platforms as co-head of a Kosovar call center.

Shaker’s Role & Full Confession

Shaker was pivotal in the operational execution of fraud. His call center in Prague was the largest and most profitable within Lenhoff’s network. He oversaw staff who targeted German-speaking investors with false trading promises on platforms like Option888, ZoomTrader, and TradeInvest90.

His full confession at trial confirms his central role in orchestrating the deception. His confession could also become a problem for other suspects. According to information from FinTelegram, around a dozen cases relating to the Lenhoff cybercrime empire are currently pending in various criminal courts.

The Money Laundering Web

Lenhoff used various front companies and platforms to clean the proceeds. Key among them was Payvision B.V., an Amsterdam-based payment processor founded by Rudolf Booker and sold to ING Bank in 2018 for €375 million. Despite regulatory complaints by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB), no criminal charges were brought against Payvision executives Booker, Cheng Li, or Gijs Op de Weegh.

Read our Payvision reports here.

CryptoDaily (CryptoDaily.co.uk), nominally a crypto news portal, was another laundering vehicle co-founded with Alex Bures. Global Payment Solutions Podgorica (GPS) was launched with cybercriminals Gal Barak and Gery Shalon to channel victim funds through Balkan banks, allegedly involving local mafia figures.

Regulatory Failure and Unanswered Questions

The Amsterdam public prosecutor’s office has failed to act decisively. Despite overwhelming evidence and regulatory complaints, no investigation into Payvision’s executive leadership or the ING acquisition has been publicly disclosed. The death of Lenhoff in pre-trial detention further obstructed efforts to reveal the full extent of the fraud.

Actionable Insight

Regulators and law enforcement agencies — particularly in the Netherlands — must be held accountable for their inaction. Why have Payvision’s executives not been charged? Why has ING not been investigated for its due diligence failures? The conviction of Shaker should reignite demands for justice against the facilitators and financial institutions that enabled Lenhoff’s empire.

Summarizing Table: Entities and Individuals Involved

Call for Information

FinTelegram urges whistleblowers, investigators, and former insiders — particularly from Amsterdam’s FinTech scene — to provide information on the facilitators of the Lenhoff cybercrime empire. Submit confidential tips via Whistle42.com to support transparency and accountability.