jenniferthescout

[jenniferthescout]

Fugitive FX Fraudster Accuses Israeli Lawyers of 100m Euro BTC Theft

Jacques Vygodatsky was evading a German warrant and fleeing to Latin America.

The Belgian-Israeli accused Guy Yuval and Uri Arad of stealing 100m euros worth of Bitcoin.

A lawsuit filed over the weekend has revealed a sordid web of deceit involving alleged large-scale embezzlement, FX, Crypto and Binary fraud, and the theft of over 100 million euros worth of Bitcoin.

As reported in local Israeli media, lawyers Guy Yuval and Uri Arad have been accused of stealing a total of 2300 Bitcoins valued at 105 million euros from Jacques Henry Vygodatsky, a Belgian-Israeli, who himself was evading European authorities for his alleged part in industrial-scale binary options and forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds ... Read this Term frauds.

Although not confirmed as related Finance Magnates reported earlier this week of a number of warrants issued by German authorities and at least one arrest made as the global crackdown on trading scammers continues to hot up. Over the last 18 months, Israeli and German authorities have worked together to arrest dozens of Israelis suspected of being involved in financial trading scams.

The story, as per the indictment, starts in March 2021with Vygodatsky, through middleman Mickey Hefez agreeing with lawyers Yuval and Arad to transfer a sum of Bitcoin which the lawyers would convert into euros returned to Vygodatsky minus a commission. The following month in Bulgaria, Avi Itzkovich, an associate of Vygodatsky, was arrested on behalf of the German authorities who also issued a warrant for Vygodatsky.

Scamming the Scammer?

With an arrest warrant issued for Vygodatsky, according to the lawsuit, he "hastily turned to lawyers Yuval and Arad to consult with them on how he should proceed." What is then claimed to have followed can only be described as something out of a Netflix drama or a Hollywood film.

According to Vygodatsky, the lawyers came up with an evasion plan, which they warned if not followed would see Vygodatsky face a lengthy German prison sentence. Having been ordered to sever all ties with family and friends, Vygodatsky handed over his ID, passport and documents to the lawyers to be destroyed.

With his email servers wiped, Vygodatsky was ordered to break all contact with his lawyer of last decade Moshe Strogano, who had previously represented the plaintiff in all his private matters. The plan now was to smuggle Vygodatsky, using a fake passport supplied by Yuval and Arad to Latin America, where the lawyers claimed to have good connections.

Having left Bulgaria for Greece and then on to Portugal, all contact between Vygodatsky and Yuval and Arad was conducted through third parties and non-traceable disposable mobile phones. By now, Vygodatsky had entrusted his digital wallet and password to Yuval and Arad, who whilst financing Vygodatsky's Portuguese accommodation, refused to have any direct contact with him.

Whilst 'on the run' for a number of months and in financial difficulty, Vygodatsky tried requesting the promised funds from Yuval and Arad but was continually blanked. The lawsuit then claims that "Lawyers Yuval and Arad refused his demands and began to avoid the plaintiff's inquiries to them while threatening him that if he tries to contact them in order to ask for his money and bitcoins, they will contact the authorities in Germany and hand over his property and money to them."

More Twists Than a Chubby Checker Concert

Vygodatsky now suspicious of being scammed himself turned to his previous lawyer Moshe Strogano, who advised Vygodatsky to hand himself over to German authorities. Strogano is now representing Vygodatsky who is seeking a plea bargain in which most of the charges will be dropped and investors defrauded by Vygodatsky would be financially recompensed.

The drama continued with the lawsuit alleging that Yuval and Arad then embarked upon a smear campaign against Moshe Strogano in which fictitious and slanderous articles were published linking Strogano to FX fraud and helping Vygodatsky evade arrest.

Yuval issued a statement strenuously denying the charges:

"This is a fictional intimidation lawsuit, filed by Jacques Vygodatsky, a crook and international criminal who swindled thousands of innocent victims out of hundreds of millions of euros.

"He came to us in order to receive financial services and presented himself as an international businessman. After several months it became clear to us that he belongs to a criminal organization, and that his funds are funds that were stolen from a forex scam.

Yuval claims to have then reported Vygodatsky to the German authorities, saying:

"When we reported, at the request of the authorities in Germany, who are working against him, about his funds in huge sums kept in a bank account in Singapore, which he tried to hide from the thousands of victims he defrauded, he turned us into his enemies and persecutes us in every possible way."

In the statement, Yuval claims that Vygodatsky sent criminals to intimidate him:

"Vygodatsky even sent gangs of criminals to our home in the dead of night, and to our office during office hours, in order to discourage us from cooperating in the criminal and civil proceedings against him in Germany. These criminals were filmed and photographed and even arrested by the police after we filed complaints.

"After the intimidation through criminals failed, Vygodatsky moved to the next stage, which is an attempt to discredit us or delegitimize us, with a lawsuit that is entirely an act of fraud, which of course will be rejected. We will not be deterred and will continue to cooperate with the authorities in Germany so that he pays for his actions towards the thousands of victims."

Defendant Mickey Hefez dismissed the lawsuit as "nonsense" whilst a statement has yet to be made by Arad.

Finance Magnates will update the story when more details emerge or when the purchase of the film rights to this saga has been announced.

A lawsuit filed over the weekend has revealed a sordid web of deceit involving alleged large-scale embezzlement, FX, Crypto and Binary fraud, and the theft of over 100 million euros worth of Bitcoin.

As reported in local Israeli media, lawyers Guy Yuval and Uri Arad have been accused of stealing a total of 2300 Bitcoins valued at 105 million euros from Jacques Henry Vygodatsky, a Belgian-Israeli, who himself was evading European authorities for his alleged part in industrial-scale binary options and forex frauds.

Although not confirmed as related Finance Magnates reported earlier this week of a number of warrants issued by German authorities and at least one arrest made as the global crackdown on trading scammers continues to hot up. Over the last 18 months, Israeli and German authorities have worked together to arrest dozens of Israelis suspected of being involved in financial trading scams.

The story, as per the indictment, starts in March 2021with Vygodatsky, through middleman Mickey Hefez agreeing with lawyers Yuval and Arad to transfer a sum of Bitcoin which the lawyers would convert into euros returned to Vygodatsky minus a commission. The following month in Bulgaria, Avi Itzkovich, an associate of Vygodatsky, was arrested on behalf of the German authorities who also issued a warrant for Vygodatsky.

Scamming the Scammer?

With an arrest warrant issued for Vygodatsky, according to the lawsuit, he "hastily turned to lawyers Yuval and Arad to consult with them on how he should proceed." What is then claimed to have followed can only be described as something out of a Netflix drama or a Hollywood film.

According to Vygodatsky, the lawyers came up with an evasion plan, which they warned if not followed would see Vygodatsky face a lengthy German prison sentence. Having been ordered to sever all ties with family and friends, Vygodatsky handed over his ID, passport and documents to the lawyers to be destroyed.

With his email servers wiped, Vygodatsky was ordered to break all contact with his lawyer of last decade Moshe Strogano, who had previously represented the plaintiff in all his private matters. The plan now was to smuggle Vygodatsky, using a fake passport supplied by Yuval and Arad to Latin America, where the lawyers claimed to have good connections.

Having left Bulgaria for Greece and then on to Portugal, all contact between Vygodatsky and Yuval and Arad was conducted through third parties and non-traceable disposable mobile phones. By now, Vygodatsky had entrusted his digital wallet and password to Yuval and Arad, who whilst financing Vygodatsky's Portuguese accommodation, refused to have any direct contact with him.

Whilst 'on the run' for a number of months and in financial difficulty, Vygodatsky tried requesting the promised funds from Yuval and Arad but was continually blanked. The lawsuit then claims that "Lawyers Yuval and Arad refused his demands and began to avoid the plaintiff's inquiries to them while threatening him that if he tries to contact them in order to ask for his money and bitcoins, they will contact the authorities in Germany and hand over his property and money to them."

More Twists Than a Chubby Checker Concert

Vygodatsky now suspicious of being scammed himself turned to his previous lawyer Moshe Strogano, who advised Vygodatsky to hand himself over to German authorities. Strogano is now representing Vygodatsky who is seeking a plea bargain in which most of the charges will be dropped and investors defrauded by Vygodatsky would be financially recompensed.

The drama continued with the lawsuit alleging that Yuval and Arad then embarked upon a smear campaign against Moshe Strogano in which fictitious and slanderous articles were published linking Strogano to FX fraud and helping Vygodatsky evade arrest.

Yuval issued a statement strenuously denying the charges:

"This is a fictional intimidation lawsuit, filed by Jacques Vygodatsky, a crook and international criminal who swindled thousands of innocent victims out of hundreds of millions of euros.

"He came to us in order to receive financial services and presented himself as an international businessman. After several months it became clear to us that he belongs to a criminal organization, and that his funds are funds that were stolen from a forex scam.

Yuval claims to have then reported Vygodatsky to the German authorities, saying:

"When we reported, at the request of the authorities in Germany, who are working against him, about his funds in huge sums kept in a bank account in Singapore, which he tried to hide from the thousands of victims he defrauded, he turned us into his enemies and persecutes us in every possible way."

In the statement, Yuval claims that Vygodatsky sent criminals to intimidate him:

"Vygodatsky even sent gangs of criminals to our home in the dead of night, and to our office during office hours, in order to discourage us from cooperating in the criminal and civil proceedings against him in Germany. These criminals were filmed and photographed and even arrested by the police after we filed complaints.

"After the intimidation through criminals failed, Vygodatsky moved to the next stage, which is an attempt to discredit us or delegitimize us, with a lawsuit that is entirely an act of fraud, which of course will be rejected. We will not be deterred and will continue to cooperate with the authorities in Germany so that he pays for his actions towards the thousands of victims."

Defendant Mickey Hefez dismissed the lawsuit as "nonsense" whilst a statement has yet to be made by Arad.

Finance Magnates will update the story when more details emerge or when the purchase of the film rights to this saga has been announced.

[jenniferthescout]

£300m tax dodge fugitive launches bid to return to Scotland

SCOTLAND'S wealthiest fraud suspect is trying to strike a deal to return from Pakistan but keep his cash, we can reveal.

Imran “Immy” Hussain, 34, has been on the run from HMRC investigators for six years over a VAT scam in which he allegedly stole £300million from UK taxpayers.

It is understood that top QC Paul McBride, 47, met fugitive Hussain during the trip to Pakistan where he died last month.

Former sunbed shop boss Hussain has been in Pakistan since being forced out of the millionaires’ playground of Dubai.

“He has effectively been on the run since the end of 2006 and it’s time to come back but he will only do so if he can get the right deal.

“He wants to come home – but not to spend 20 years in a cell.

“His preferred outcome would be to hand over a large amount of his money and do a light sentence – that way, the authorities could say justice has been done and point to the cash seizure as a success.”

McBride told a friend that he was going to Lahore to meet a wealthy client wanted for a major fraud in the UK.

Legal sources and friends of the lawyer, who was found dead in his room at the Pearl Continental Hotel, believe he met Hussain.

McBride travelled to Pakistan with solicitor Aamer Anwar, 44, who said the lawyers attended a wedding during their stay.

Hussain had been living the high-life in Dubai, where he owned two luxury houses, a fleet of cars and a yacht. He also travelled to Europe by private jet.

He spent fortunes on wild parties and thought nothing of buying Rolex watches for his pals.

But he was forced to leave the desert kingdom when HMRC investigators were sent to track him down.

Hussain, from Newton Mearns, Glasgow, had already been in contact with HMRC about a possible deal.

Sources have described communication between Hussain and HMRC as “very sensitive”.

One legal source said: “Paul was in Pakistan in his professional capacity as an advocate.

“He was there to meet a Scottish Asian who is wanted for VAT fraud and wants to come back to Scotland.

“His contacts at the Crown Office were at the highest level and he operated and negotiated at such a level.”

Another associate of Hussain said: “Things got a lot more difficult for him when he had to leave Dubai. He realised that HMRC weren’t going to give up on him and he has now been in Pakistan for the last couple of years.”

Hussain is suspected of heading a Europe-wide operation who set up hundreds of bogus firms linked to VAT fraud, also known as carousel fraud. Gangs claim back VAT on goods they say were imported and then exported.

But the goods – usually small but high-value items such as computer chips and mobile phones – never existed.

Britain’s carousel fraudsters cost taxpayers £3.5billion a year at the height of their operations.

That was how much the gangs – most of them based in Glasgow – stole in the import-export scam.

The crooks claimed to bring in high-value small goods such as mobile phones or computer chips VAT-free from the EU.

A VAT-registered firm would then “sell” the items in the UK to a criminal associate and add 20 per cent VAT.

The items are then re-exported and re-imported, with the conmen able to continually claim multiple VAT rebates on goods that don’t exist.

Britain suffered its worst year at the hands of the fraudsters in 2006, losing £3.5billion.

David Odd, of HMRC, last year said the figure had been reduced to between £500million and £1billion annually.

This was largely due to an extended verification programme which postponed VAT repayment claims.

Several hundred officers were also deployed to investigate traders who dealt in mobiles and computer chips and had a huge turnover in a short time.