Prosecutor's Office Initiates Prosecution Against Five Individuals for Operating Scam Call Centers
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
The General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia, in collaboration with Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, and relevant German agencies, has initiated criminal prosecution against three organizers of the 'call center,' one member of the organized group, and one legal entity, according to their statement.
The 'call center' employees contacted German citizens, using fictitious names, providing false information about their company's location. They offered participation in electronic trading of securities, shares, commodity assets, currencies, and cryptocurrencies using electronic platforms created by the criminal group.
Operators assured users that, with their assistance in electronic trading, substantial profits were guaranteed. In reality, the funds allocated by the victims for electronic trading were fraudulently obtained.
The prosecutor's office states that, in an effort to legitimize the illegally obtained funds, the criminal group engaged in multiple fictitious transactions on bank accounts. Consequently, the money was integrated into economic turnover through the purchase of various properties, including real estate. Under this scheme, the group successfully laundered tens of millions of GEL in illegally obtained income.
The investigative agency stated that criminal prosecution has been initiated against all five defendants for the act of legalizing illegal income, which carries a sentence of imprisonment ranging from 9 to 12 years.
Additionally, as per the investigation, real estate owned by the defendants, worth several million GEL, have been seized, preventing them from further disposing of or hiding these assets.
To ensure the confiscation of these properties of criminal origin in favor of the state, the prosecutor's office will carry out appropriate legal procedures.
The prosecutor's office reports that the organizers of the crime have already faced charges in the Regensburg Regional Court of the Federal Republic of Germany, specifically for commercial and group fraud.
