German banks defrauded of $28M in fake phone deals, money transferred to Türkiye

Authorities have announced the indictment of two men, aged 32 and 43, on charges of defrauding banks of a substantial sum of money. The suspects are accused of orchestrating a complex scheme that involved fraudulent mobile phone transactions, allegedly siphoning off an estimated 26 million euros ($28.9 million).

The trial, which begins on Tuesday, will address accusations that the men orchestrated a network of companies to carry out fraudulent financial activities between 2016 and 2018, with funds being transferred to Türkiye.

Banks defrauded using fake transactions, funds moved to Türkiye

According to the Hildesheim Regional Court, the defendants allegedly established a web of interconnected companies to carry out fraudulent transactions. Initially, they received smaller sums of money from two large, well-known banks, but over time these amounts grew significantly, ranging between 200,000 euros and 5 million euros per transaction.

The court outlined that the accused moved the money swiftly to accounts in Türkiye and other company-controlled accounts, making it impossible for the banks to recover the funds.

Elaborate scheme involved multiple transfers to Türkiye

After the funds were transferred to Türkiye, the defendants reportedly contested the direct debit transactions, forcing the banks to reverse the payments.

However, by the time the banks were legally obliged to return the funds, the money was already out of their reach, primarily located in Türkiye.

$28 million in losses across multiple transactions

The fraudulent scheme is believed to have resulted in 11 cases of fraud, with total damages amounting to $28 million.

The investigation took over four years due to the complexity of the case. The trial is expected to continue for at least eight court sessions, according to a spokesperson from the Hildesheim Regional Court in Germany.