Deep Read: „Operation Chargeback“: Hochriskantes Geschäft – oder doch Betrug? Geheime Dokumente geben Einblick
Zwei Männer sprechen über dieselben Geschäfte und Warnsignale. Der eine sieht ein legales Hochrisikogeschäft – der andere einen mutmaßlichen globalen Betrug. Nun droht ein Mammutprozess.
Düsseldorf. Martin D., a man whose identity has been changed, sat in the JVA Frankenthal and was ready to discuss his case. He had read the arrest warrant against him and found it shocking, according to the state prosecutor he met with on March 13, 2026. D. expressed that he had hoped to find a fraud model in the files that investigators had overlooked.
The transcript of the interrogation was made available to The Handelsblatt, revealing a crucial moment in one of Germany's largest economic criminal cases. The General Prosecutor's Office in Koblenz is investigating suspected credit card fraudsters who allegedly undermined the German financial market over the years.
Operation Chargeback, the code name for this investigation, saw authorities raid over 60 locations in nine countries and arrest 18 individuals in November 2025. Of the 44 accused, the prosecutors maintain that credit card payment service providers like Wirecard, Payone, Heidelpay (now Unzer) and Concardis (now Nexi) acted as conduits for their allegedly fraudulent transactions.
The core of the investigation revolves around the use of illegally obtained credit card data to secure over 18 million costly subscriptions without the cardholders' knowledge. They are accused of defrauding more than three million people across 193 countries, amassing over €260 million.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
