11 detained for fraudulent misappropriation of GEL2 million belonging to international citizens
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Tuesday, April 6
The Georgian Prosecutor's Office has charged 10 Georgian and one Israeli citizen with fraudulent embezzlement of large sums of money belonging to foreign nationals, tampering with personal data, and money laundering.
"Employees of the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the framework of international cooperation with Eurojust, have uncovered a large-scale international scheme for fraudulent embezzlement of large sums of money and money laundering.”
The investigation established in the spring of 2019, an Israeli citizen formed an organized criminal group that was engaged in the fraudulent appropriation of funds belonging to foreign nationals interested in cryptocurrency trading. The organizers gradually involved a number of individuals fluent in foreign languages in the illicit activities to illegally obtain personal data and systematically contacted potential victims and offered to purchase cryptocurrency by cashless payment. Members of the group registered them remotely on the relevant website, after which they purchased cryptocurrency in their name, which was later transferred to accounts available not to the victims but the accounts of the group members.
The members of the criminal group fraudulently misappropriated large sums of money belonging to numerous foreign citizens. As a result of active cooperation with Eurojust, dozens of affected EU citizens have already been identified, and the amount of damages set for this stage is 620,000 euros.
As reported by the prosecutor's office, the investigation also revealed that some of the criminal group members managed to legalize their illegal income, in particular, they purchased expensive vehicles and real estate, which were distrained. The amount of more than GEL2 million received as a result of criminal activities in the bank account of the head of the organized groups was found and frozen as well.
The lawyer for an Israeli citizen arrested on charges of fraudulent embezzlement says detainee George Simon Hoor is exercising his right to remain silent.
Malkhaz Alakaia, a lawyer for two Georgian citizens arrested on charges of embezzlement, says his clients have not pleaded guilty. According to him, there is no evidence in the case to prove that the detainees misappropriated the money. The Lawyer says that cryptocurrencies are not prohibited and that his clients provided only intellectual assistance in these matters.
The Prosecutor's Office of Georgia charged 10 Georgian citizens and one Israeli citizen yesterday. The crime is punishable by nine to 12 years in prison.
