crime
Investors attracted to cannabis plants with high returns
Cannabis plants in a greenhouse in Ecuador where cannabis is grown for medicinal purposes. photo
© David Diaz ARcos/dpa
Suspected criminals are said to have lured investors to invest in the cultivation of medical cannabis plants. The police and judiciary have been investigating the matter in several countries for years. Now they’re taking action.
They are said to have lured investors into growing medicinal plants with the prospect of high returns Investing in cannabis plants and offering participation via virtual greenhouses. In fact, the Berlin public prosecutor’s office is convinced that it was a large-scale “pyramid scheme” that was deliberately intended to appeal to small investors.
The transactions are said to have been carried out via an internet platform. The investigators assume that around 186,500 investors paid a total of around 645 million euros, of which around 190 million were in cryptocurrencies. Investigators have taken action against those responsible with searches and arrests in Germany as well as Poland, Latvia and Estonia, as the public prosecutor’s office and the police announced on Friday.
Suspected mastermind arrested in Berlin
According to the public prosecutor’s office, a 60-year-old was arrested in Berlin as the suspected mastermind and was taken into custody. He is considered the head of a company that is said to be part of the corporate network. Another accused aged 55 was arrested in Baden-Württemberg. According to the public prosecutor’s office, as the company’s managing director and company member, he was the only one who had access to the accounts. Assets worth around 500,000 euros were seized and numerous documents and data carriers were confiscated.
It was said that the main people responsible for the internet platform through which the transactions were carried out are being investigated on suspicion of gang and commercial fraud. She is said to have operated from Russia. Accusations of money laundering are also being considered against other suspects.
Victims suspected in more than 35 countries
According to the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, the operation was preceded by extensive investigations. The State Criminal Police Office in the capital had already evaluated numerous documents in August 2022. The investigators initially targeted 12 people suspected of being involved, but now there are 31, according to the public prosecutor’s office. Initially there were 230 reports from suspected victims, but there are now more than 3,000 in Berlin alone.
According to the investigation, it can be assumed that there could be victims in more than 35 countries. In order to enable cross-border action, a cross-border investigation group was founded.
From the perspective of Berlin’s Justice Senator Felor Badenberg (independent), the cooperation has paid off. “Criminals rarely stop at national borders. This is especially true in the age of digitalization. This is why law enforcement authorities also need cross-border networking and cooperation, especially to combat organized crime,” said Badenberg.
In Germany, Berlin is the focus of searches
According to authorities, 264 German officers alone were involved in the operation. This also included specialized crypto, financial and economic investigators, two dogs trained to search for money or data and IT forensic experts from the Federal Police as well as officers from Europol and Eurojust.
According to the information, 17 apartments in Germany, Poland, Latvia and Estonia were searched. Berlin was the focus of the campaigns in Germany with 10 addresses. There were further searches in Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia.