The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bamberg has indicted Yehezkely Isaac, who was part of the management structure of Gal Barak’s call-centre operation between December 2016 and February 2019. Barak’s investment fraud schemes are alleged to have defrauded tens of thousands of European victims of approximately €200 million between September 2015 and February 2019.
During this period, Yehezkely Isaac acted as a retention manager, first from December 2016 to March 2018, and from April 2018 until February 2019. Yehezkely was upgraded to a retention manager. He was in charge of the fraudulent investment scams xtraderfx and optionstarsglobal.
The fact that Cybercrime Bamberg continues to actively investigate the case strengthens our expectations that German criminal proceedings may soon be initiated against the alleged masterminds of the cybercrime network, including Gal Barak, Marina Barak, and Gery Shalon.
ECJ Ruling Enables Barak's German Prosecution
The ECJ’s landmark C-365/21 decision (March 23, 2023) rejected Barak’s “ne bis in idem” defence, ruling his 2020 Austrian conviction (4 years for €2.6M fraud against Austrian victims) doesn’t bar Germany from prosecuting distinct offences against German victims. Under CISA Articles 55(1)(b) and 56, Bamberg can pursue Barak for threats to national interests, crediting prior sentences.
EFRI's Extensive Barak-Shalon Coverage
EFRI has comprehensively documented the Barak-Shalon cybercrime network across multiple investigative articles, building a vital resource for victims and regulators: “GAL BARAK – Wolf of Sofia sentenced to 4 Years in Prison” details Barak’s Vienna conviction and €200M damages “Payvision’s Cooperation with Gal Barak and Uwe Lenhoff” exposes payment processor complicity; “Can we finally charge Gery Shalon for his Crimes in Europe?” analyzes Shalon’s EU liability ; “Bulgaria – An EU Scam and Money Laundering Hub” maps E&G laundering operations; and “Indictments and Verdicts around Barak’s and Lenhoff’s Criminal Organizations” tracks ongoing trials.
Payment Processors' Critical Role
Payvision B.V., a Dutch-licensed PSP supervised by the Dutch DNB and an ING Bank N.V. subsidiary, processed massive volumes of Barak scam payments despite AML red flags, excessive chargebacks, complaints, and more than 100 SARs filed, enabling approximately €200 million in damages. EFRI pursued criminal complaints and victim settlements. By now, Payvision is in liquidation. The former management was found guilty of systematic failures in KYC and transaction monitoring. Austrian civil actions were settled. A sample of civil legal actions against Payvision and ING Bank N.V. is still ongoing in Germany.
European Funds Recovery Initiative (EFRI) is currently preparing a WAMCA class action against Payvision and ING Bank N.V. We argue their liability for the total loss experienced by the victims on their alleged systematic disregard of clear red flags, including persistently elevated chargeback ratios, merchant risk indicators, and other warning signals defined under applicable Visa scheme rules, AML obligations, and transaction-monitoring standards, which allowed fraudulent schemes (Barak’ and Lenhoff’s scams, 24option and many more) to continue operating at scale.
Victim Action Steps
- Document losses linked to Barak platforms
- Join EFRI collective action against Payvision B.V. and ING Bank N.V. (get in touch: [email protected]).
