FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
The "Call-Center" fraud scheme seems to have been built the same in all the countries where it operated. People connected to politics and those in power had created the network of fraud and were operating undisturbed both in Albania and in Georgia.
Much wanted by Spanish justice, Amant Josifi seems to have "infected" Georgian officials as well. The same scheme followed by him for scams with "call centers", seems to have been followed by some officials who have held high positions in Georgia.
According to what is reported, the former defense minister of Georgia, Davit Kezerashvili, has been investigated by the prosecution, as he is suspected of being part of the large international "call-center" fraud, where thousands of EU citizens fell prey. of.
More than $1 million in illegal fraud proceeds allegedly flowed into bank accounts held by Davit Kezerashvili and two family members, according to the Georgia Attorney General's Office .
Kezerashvili served as head of the financial police and then defense minister under Mikheil Saakashvili, who was president of the small country in the Caucasus region from 2004 to 2013. Kezerashvili has not been charged.
The investigation, involving law enforcement in Georgia and Germany, uncovered four suspects who are facing charges of "fraud and money laundering by an organized group," OCCRP reports .
One of the suspects allegedly sent Kezerashvili and his relatives the money, according to the prosecutor's office.
" The investigation into this matter continues actively, including the involvement of our foreign colleagues ," said the prosecutors.
Kezerashvili did not respond to emailed questions, and a law firm representing him declined to comment on the allegations.
In Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, police raided "a large call-center" on Thursday, seizing hundreds of computers and phones, along with vehicles and more than $800,000 in cash. The group operated under the company name Morgan Limited LLC, prosecutors said.
In 2020, OCCRP reported on a network of call centers spanning Georgia, Albania and Ukraine that employed an army of workers to carry out dubious investments they received from their victims around the world.
Although the centers used different names with their clients, they were known as Milton Group in Ukraine and Morgan Limited in Georgia. They defrauded vulnerable and elderly people all over the world, who were forced to send the scammers large sums of money in the belief that they were making investments.
A Spanish police investigation estimated in 2022 that the operation had stolen billions of euros in total from thousands of victims. Georgian prosecutors said the criminal group busted Thursday in that country had defrauded citizens of Germany, Slovenia and Slovakia of about $2.9 million.
Call center workers tricked victims into signing up on cryptocurrency exchange platforms and then transferring their purchased "virtual assets" to digital wallets controlled by the crime group. At the same time, they showed victims fake platforms that simulated growth in their investments.
" They cut off all communication with the victims if the latter demanded the return of invested funds or profits ," said prosecutors.
Kezerashvili was accused in 2013 of accepting $12 million in bribes to turn a blind eye to massive alcohol smuggling from Ukraine to Georgia. He was eventually acquitted of the charges, which he says were politically motivated.
Such a scheme of defrauding "call centers" with cryptocurrencies was spotted by the Spanish authorities in Albania as well. In November 2022, an international mega operation led by EUROJUST took place and spread across 10 countries, including Albania, and led to the destruction of a criminal group that had defrauded thousands of citizens, mainly in the EU, through cryptocurrency investments.
The call center fraud scheme seems to have been built the same in all countries where it operated. People connected to politics and those in power had created the fraud network and were operating undisturbed both in Albania and Georgia.
In the Albanian case, it is about Amant Josif, an Albanian businessman with strong political connections. He was also an adviser to the Albanian Minister of Defense until 2020. He was declared wanted by the Spanish authorities for fraud with call centers after the action of Eurojust in 2022. A year later in 2023, he was arrested in Dubai in order to extradite him to Spain.
" Spanish authorities participated in the Albanian raid, the main source of marketing calls for victims in the Iberian Peninsula. An arrest warrant has been issued for Amant J., a call-center owner with high-level connections to the Albanian government who has also been an adviser to the Ministry of Defense. In Georgia, German authorities arrested Mikhail B., a major political campaign contributor who owned call centers and websites aimed primarily at Georgian citizens. Despite being at war, the Ukrainian police dismantled the call centers that employed more than 800 people" , wrote 2 years ago 'El Pais', referring to Eurojust's mega operation.
Looking at the fraud schemes and the people who ran these extortionate companies, it seems clear that the "heads" had the "blessing" of high officials in the countries where they operated./ Pamphlet
Lini një Përgjigje