Philippines Arrests Alleged Mastermind of Forex Fraud Based Eastern Europe

An Israeli who was the alleged mastermind of a Forex scam scheme was arrested in the Philippines one year after fleeing Bulgaria. According to Calcalist, Kfir Levy operated a fraud network in Eastern Europe running forex and binary options scams, allegedly deceiving thousands of investors in the region.

The authorities in the Philippines noted that Levy is accused of having scammed ‘hundreds’ of German citizens, stealing around EUR 6.3 million, through his bogus company named ‘G&E Finances,’ where he was listed as the CEO. In fact, the individual faces charges in Germany as two arrest warrants were issued by a court in the Bavarian district of Bavaria.

Levy ran the fraud network from Sofia, Bulgaria, whose partners included other Israeli citizens, Russians, Serbs, among other nationalities, the media outlet noted. According to the authorities, the individual had set up aggressive advertising and sales campaign through sophisticated call centers operating in Sofia, promising people high returns on their investments on forex and binary options.

Findings suggest that Levy could have pocketed around EUR 200 million over the scheme’s life through the scam. Still, the Austrian police remains to investigate the case, as Levy is suspected of committing serious fraud.

Extradition to Germany

The Philippines expects to extradite Levy to Germany, according to the country’s Ministry of Immigration, as the authorities noted he entered the country as a tourist. If convicted, Calcalist said that he could face ‘many years’ in a German prison.

One of Levy’s alleged partners in the fraud, Gal Barak, was previously convicted in September 2020 during a fraud case where he was accused of stealing around EUR 2.5 million. In a court in Vienna, he was sentenced to four years in prison and was released last May with a half deduction of his sentence.

Finance Magnates has been reporting recently How Israeli authorities had been strengthening their crackdowns on forex and binary options-related scams by arresting several individuals tied to frauds.

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