STA, 9 March 2021 - Slovenian police have arrested three of the five people they suspect were involved in a racket known as CEO fraud, a scam in which criminals impersonate executives to fool employees into making unauthorized wire transfers. The fraud was perpetrated mostly in the UK, while the money was laundered in Slovenia.
Martin Rupnik, the head of the white collar crime department at the Ljubljana Police District, told the press Tuesday that investigators had conducted 25 house searches during which three suspects were apprehended. They remain in detention.
The suspects are believed to have laundered the proceeds from criminal activities, mostly in the UK, after creating fake CEO identities and convincing employees to wire money to corporate accounts opened by a Slovenian legal entity.
They received wire transfers of around EUR 300,000, of which the police managed to seize EUR 170,000. The investigation is ongoing.
Police believe three to five foreign companies fell victim to the fraud, but the exact number will not be known until the investigation of electronic devices is completed.
"The pre-trial stage regarding fraud is under way abroad, not here. The Slovenian police have taken over the money laundering investigation," said Rupnik.
Večer writes that NLB bank alerted law enforcement authorities of bankers who gave loans to Raščan.
Money laundering in a criminal organisation carries a prison sentence of up to ten years in Slovenia.
