Prosecutor’s Office Initiates Criminal Proceedings Against Organizers of Transnational Crime Linked to Call Centers
On December 25, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Georgia issued a statement announcing that it had initiated criminal proceedings against three organizers of a transnational organized criminal group, one member of an organized group, and one legal entity. The Prosecutor General’s Office stated that it had cooperated with Eurojust and the German authorities to initiate the prosecution.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation revealed that the members of the organized group set up a so-called call center based based on companies in Georgia. “In accordance with a pre-developed plan, the employees of the call center contacted citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany, using fictitious names, provided false information about the location of their company and offered to participate in electronic trading of securities, shares, commodity assets, currencies and cryptocurrencies using electronic platforms created by the criminal group,” – reads the statement.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the operators assured users that they would make a solid profit in the case of participation in electronic trading. “In fact, the funds allocated by the victims for electronic trading were fraudulently appropriated by them,” – notes the statement.
The appropriated money was given the appearance of legitimacy “as a result of multiple fictitious transactions on the bank accounts under the control of the criminal group,” says the Prosecutor General’s office and was then used to purchase various properties, including real estate. “By the mentioned scheme, the organized group legalized illegal income amounting to fraudulently acquired tens of millions of GEL,” the statement says.
Criminal proceedings for the legalization of illegal income, which carries a sentence of nine to twelve years in prison, have been initiated against all five of the defendants. Real estate worth millions of GEL has also been confiscated, making it impossible to dispose of or conceal it. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has also announced that it will take the appropriate legal steps to ensure that the property of criminal origin is confiscated for the benefit of the State.
The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office also notes that the organizers of the crime have already been sentenced by the Regensburg Regional Court in Germany for commercial and group fraud. It also says that the Prosecutor’s Office will apply to the Tbilisi City Court with a motion to use imprisonment as a preventive measure against the defendants.
According to the statement, the Georgian Prosecutor’s Office “continues the investigation in order to identify and expose other individuals and legal entities engaged in the activities of so-called fraudulent call centers in different countries, including the organizers of transnational crimes.”
Also Read:
- 09/11/2023 – Georgian Prosecutor’s Office and International Cooperation Expose Transnational Fraud
- 12/04/2023 – BBC Investigation Links Kezerashvili to a Global Scam Network
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
