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Fraudulent call center schemes, Germany indicts Israeli leader of Amant Yosif's group

2026-01-07 19:02:28Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Fraudulent call center schemes, Germany indicts Israeli leader of Amant
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By Konstantin Kraft, FRANKENPOST

The Bamberg Public Prosecutor's Office, the Bavarian Central Cybercrime Office, has filed an indictment against a person suspected of being the head of an internationally operating fraud ring known as the "Milton Group". The 50-year-old, an Israeli and Georgian citizen, is accused of causing financial damage of around 230 million euros. This was announced in a statement by the Central Cybercrime Office on Wednesday.

In the German-speaking area alone, over 1,000 people are said to have fallen victim to the "Milton Group".

Since there are also people from Upper Franconia among the victims, the Criminal Police Inspectorate in Upper Franconia is intensively involved in the investigations that have been going on for years, as stated by Thomas Goger, Chief Prosecutor at the Bamberg General Prosecutor's Office.

Arrested in Armenia

According to our information, the accused is Mikheil B. He was arrested in August 2023 in Armenia and extradited to Germany in May 2024. Since then, he has been in custody in a Bavarian prison. Which one exactly is not made public for security reasons.

The 50-year-old man's trial will take place before the Economic Cybercrime Chamber of the Bamberg Regional Court. The first public hearing is scheduled for January 15, a court spokesman confirmed. Twelve hearings are currently scheduled.

What charges are against him?

The person, who has no previous convictions in Germany, is suspected of being part of a criminal group that operated several call centers in various countries (Albania, Georgia, North Macedonia, Ukraine) from 2014 until a large-scale search operation in November 2022, according to the Central Cybercrime Office.

In cyber-trading scams, perpetrators presented victims with fake digital platforms for trading various financial instruments. “The invested capital was usually completely lost.”

Hidden damage, many times greater

Mikheil B. is said to have run a call center in Tirana (Albania) with around 600 employees from late 2014 to May 2019. “This call center distributed at least 28 platforms and harmed around 180 people from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with a total damage of around eight million euros,” the judicial authority reports.

The real damage is thought to be many times higher. Seized accounting documents show that for the period January 2018 – May 2019 alone, the damage in Germany amounts to around ten million euros, while worldwide it is around 50 million euros.

Also, in 2017 and 2018, IT specialists commissioned by the defendant developed a fraudulent cyber-trading program called "PumaTS".

Mikheil B. is said to have initially used this program in his call center and then – until the November 2022 raid – distributed it from Tbilisi, Georgia.

“Based on this program, clients have operated around 400 fraudulent platforms.”

The defendant is suspected of having contributed to 540 people from the German-speaking area losing around 44 million euros. Here too, the hidden damage is thought to be significantly greater. For the period February 2019 – December 2020 alone, based on accounting documents, a total damage of at least 130 million euros is calculated.

Investigations against other members

In total, the Central Cybercrime Office attributes to the accused a proven damage from criminal reports of around 52 million euros and a hidden damage of around 180 million euros. B. himself is said to have benefited from around 29 million euros.

He must answer for charges of fraud committed continuously and in criminal collaboration. For each of the two sets of criminal offenses, prison sentences of one to ten years are foreseen.

Meanwhile, other members of the Milton Group are also in the focus of criminal prosecution. It is one of the "largest international fraud networks" that the Bavarian Central Cybercrime Office is investigating in the field of organized online investment fraud, according to Goger.

Only in December 2025, a manager from a group call center in North Macedonia was finally sentenced to four years in prison.

In addition to the Criminal Police Inspectorate for Central Tasks of Upper Franconia, authorities from Saxony are also involved in the investigation against this fraud ring. An investigation group has also been set up, in which criminal prosecution authorities from Albania and Georgia also participate.


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