Trial over fraudulent cyber trading: Prosecution estimates losses at 40 million euros

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The losses amount to more than 40 million euros: by promising a lucrative investment, a criminal group is alleged to have fraudulently deceived people, made massive profits and ‘laundered’ these funds via a global network. According to the Attorney General’s Office, Denisa H. acted as a kind of service provider, making the technical infrastructure available to those responsible. The 30-year-old has been on trial at the Regional Court since Wednesday.

Wearing a light-coloured suit, Denisa H. took her place in the dock at Leipzig Regional Court on Wednesday alongside her defence team. The prosecution accuses the Albanian woman of commercial gang fraud in 685 separate instances: from January 2019, the woman, now 30, is alleged to have worked as an employee of a so-called brand provider called PumaTS in the role of ‘Head of Support’ and “Key Account Manager”, provided the operators of fraudulent online investment platforms with the technology and expertise necessary for their operation in return for payment, said Dr Stefan Reißig from the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Proceeds are said to have disappeared into a global money-laundering network

Puma TS is said to have operated from Albania, Lithuania and Georgia and, amongst other things, to have had a specialised customer management system in its portfolio which, with the defendant’s knowledge, was used to commit fraud in EU countries and beyond. The scam: through seemingly legitimate online trading platforms – of which there were at least 425 – and via call centres, investors, particularly in German-speaking countries, were lured into depositing sums of money. Investors were promised high returns through various financial instruments – such as foreign exchange, cryptocurrencies and spread betting.

In reality, however, the funds – which were never intended to be invested – ended up in overseas accounts held by agents and shell companies, only to be distributed globally via a complex money-laundering network and thus removed from the reach of the victims. Denisa H.’s aim was to generate a permanent source of income for herself and to keep the money for herself. Whilst the fraud committed against the 685 victims named in the indictment – including people from Saxony – resulted in total losses of 40,305.760.39 euros, the defendant is alleged to have pocketed the equivalent of approximately 368,000 euros.

Defendant appears willing to cooperate

The defence team for Denisa H., who was arrested in Italy on 6 October 2024 following the issuance of an international arrest warrant and is currently at liberty, announced at the start of the trial that the defendant wished to make a statement and would likely also answer questions. Her lawyers stated that it was important for her to set out her side of the story. A suspect had already been arrested in Georgia back in November 2022.

One thing is certain: the 15th Criminal Division of the Leipzig Regional Court, which is currently also presiding over the high-profile trial of the renowned doctor Gero Strauß, now has another mammoth case on its hands, one that could drag on for a very long time and is already filling thousands of pages in file folders – which in turn take up entire rooms for storage, said presiding judge Tanja Lötschert on Wednesday.

The criminal trial is also being accompanied by numerous so-called civil claimants: aggrieved investors are using the proceedings to enforce claims for damages and thus avoid a separate civil case. For the time being, the Regional Court is scheduled to hold hearings – mostly on a weekly basis – until 3 February 2027, according to current plans.