#CyberScam Case Gal Barak – Court hearing for extradition adjourned (again)! EFRI Petition highly appreciated! Let’s continue!

Today, 16 August 2019, the Austrian authorities started a new attempt before the court in Sofia to have the Israeli Gal Barak extradited. The court hearing has once again been adjourned. After it has been adjourned. After it has been adjourned. After more than a year of investigations by various EU authorities, an EU arrest warrant was issued against Gal Barak at the beginning of 2019. He was detained temporarily in Sofia as part of an internationally coordinated police operation. One of his partners, the German Uwe Lenhoff, was arrested in Austria in the course of this action and in the meantime extradited to Germany. The suspicion against the two and around a dozen other persons is financial crime, money laundering, and fraud.

Continued Cyberscam Organisation

While Lenhoff is currently in pre-trial custody in Germany waiting for his charges, Gal Barak was allegedly released for health reasons into house arrest in Sofia. From there Barak runs his E&G Bulgaria together with his partner, the Bulgarian Marina Andreeva, and his Israeli partners Kfir Levy, Itzik Gellet, Amit Hulin, and others. This Bulgarian company still operates illegal boiler rooms (call centers) for just as illegal and fraudulent broker scams.

Until his arrest in February 2019, E&G Bulgaria operated its own broker scams such as XTraderFX, SafeMarkets, OptionStarsGlobal, Golden Markets and CryptoMarkets in addition to the boiler rooms. These broker scams have defrauded tens of thousands of retail investors in the EU of up to € 200 million a year. This is claimed not only by the authorities but also by former partners of Gal Barak.

Fighting FinTelegram and extradition

Together with his Austrian and Bulgarian lawyers, Gal Barak fights the extradition to Austria. Court Hearings have been adjourned or postponed several times. Reasons given included bomb threats and sickness attests. Today, 16 August 2019, another court hearing was supposed to take place. FinTelegram and involved hosting partners were threatened by Gal Barak through his Austrian lawyers and demanded the suspension or deletion of the FinTelegram postings about Gal Barak.

Support Petition for European Cybercrime Justice

The European Funds Recovery Initiative (EFRI), together with the victims of Gal Barak’s cyberscams, has launched the Petition for European Cybercrime Justice and demanded the extradition of Gal Barak. Corresponding letters are sent to the General Prosecutor’s Office in Sofia as well as to the diplomatic representations responsible for the respective victims in Sofia.

EFRI has received very positive reactions from the diplomatic representations that have been addressed. Of course, one could not interfere in the processes of justice in the EU member state Bulgaria, but one would observe the processes very closely. Informally, EFRI was asked to continue the petition.