The Public Prosecution Service has demanded imprisonment for up to four years in an investment fraud case. The case, in which eight suspects are on trial, is also known as the boiler room case. A boiler room is a fraudulent organization that sells investment products that are worth nothing.
According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), dozens of victims under false pretenses are tempted to donate money, with a total investment of 7 million euros. Half immediately disappeared into the pockets of the suspects who, according to the PPS, were royally alive.
The OM says that many of the victims are older people from whom savings were debited. The boiler rooms traded under the names Intersecurities / Pacific Continental, Ico, Teleson, Titan Invest and Quest Capital Partners. They were active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Serbia, the United States and Hong Kong.
Brochures
Investments were sold with slick brochures, websites and sales pitch. Potential investors were falsely shown that the companies were listed on the stock exchange and were supervised by the Financial Markets Authority. If there was nothing to be gained anymore, there was hardly any contact with the suspects anymore, the OM said.
The fraud took place between 2004 and 2013. The file covers around 40,000 pages. The court is expected to rule on 1 May.
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