Prosecutor's Office Pursues Criminal Charges for Cyber Fraud and Money Laundering
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
The prosecutor's office investigated a transnational crime and started prosecuting two foreign nationals and two companies for cyber fraud and money laundering.
The agency reported that the defendants formed a criminal group to fraudulently embezzle a significant amount of money from individuals living abroad, totaling approximately 150,000 US dollars.
"According to the pre-developed criminal plan, the defendants and their associates contacted citizens of foreign countries under fictitious names, claiming to be representatives of a non-existent international investment company. They gained the trust of these individuals and convinced them to transfer funds, purportedly for purchasing shares of companies on a U.S. stock exchange, to the bank accounts of fictitious companies under their control in Georgia.
In this way, the defendants fraudulently took possession of a large amount of funds belonging to individuals, approximately 150,000 US dollars.
Subsequently, in order to give a legal facade to the unlawfully acquired funds, the defendants transferred the funds to bank accounts under their control abroad based on fake invoices, thereby legitimizing a particularly large amount of illegal income," the statement reads.
Criminal prosecution was initiated against the accused individuals for the offenses of fraud and money laundering, which carry a penalty of imprisonment from 9 to 12 years. Legal entities were also subject to criminal prosecution for money laundering, punishable by dissolution or confiscation of their operating rights, in addition to a fine.
According to information from the prosecutor's office, the accused individuals have already been subjected to imprisonment.
