It’s been two years since we’ve heard anything out of Bielefeld’s Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding OneCoin.

Now, three suspects have been indicted and will appear at Munster District Court.

As reported by
WirtschaftsWoche
;

the investigators accuse two people of operating payment services without permission and of having transferred more than 300 million euros from investors to the Cayman Islands.

A third accused allegedly made himself a criminal offense in intentional money laundering and also helped to transfer money abroad.

He accepted that the crypto money was at the center of commercial fraud.

On the surface it appears the Bielefeld indictments might be related to
Mark Scott’s OneCoin money laundering prosecution
in the US.

One of the Bielefeld defendants is being represented by Stephan Schulenberg, of the law firms Schulenberg and Schenk and SBS Legal.

Schulenberg and Schenk gained notoriety after they
rubber-stamped
OneCoin’s Ponzi scheme in 2015. Schulenberg has  represented OneCoin in Germany and is believed to have acted as Ruja Ignatova’s personal lawyer.

Speaking in defense of his clients, Schulenberg told WirtschaftsWoche
‘his client did not know that a permit was necessary’
.

Neither her lawyer at the time nor her tax advisor would have made her aware of this.

The other client acted in good faith, he was “to be regarded as unpunished”.

Given the trio worked to launder
300 million euros
, these defenses would likely be laughed out of a US court. Whether a German court swallows the defenses remains to be seen.

Michael Heuchemer, the lawyer for the third accused, said that he would apply for the main proceedings not to be opened due to insufficient suspicion.

The corresponding legal situation is complex and prone to errors, which should not be at the expense of his client.

As noted by WirtschaftsWoche, bringing OneCoin scammers to justice in Germany has proved difficult.

The Bielefeld public prosecutor’s office had investigated nine suspects in the course of several years and also examined allegations of fraud.

She has now dropped four proceedings, but is continuing to pursue two more.

The Bielefeld prosecutor’s 
initial investigation
 led to a 
raid on OneCoin’s Bulgarian offices
. The investigation has since expanded to 
include OneCoin founder Ruja Ignatova as a key suspect
.

Stephan Schulenberg has previously managed to get two German OneCoin Ponzi scammers
acquitted
.

The court accepted that the scammers acted in good faith, because they relied on the legal opinion prepared by Schulenberg and Schenk five years earlier.

If that sounds bizarre it’s because it is. Worse still, based on his representations about his current clients, it seems Schulenberg is gearing up to run the same playbook again.

Bit of a coincidence all these OneCoin scammers in Germany wind up with the same attorney. Makes you wonder who’s paying the legal bills.

Update 18th September 2021 – 
The trial of Frank Ricketts, Manon

🤖 Quick Answer

What charges were filed against three OneCoin suspects in Germany?
Three individuals were indicted in Bielefeld for operating unauthorized payment services and transferring over 300 million euros from investors to the Cayman Islands. One defendant faced additional charges of intentional money laundering and facilitating international fund transfers while acknowledging the cryptocurrency's connection to commercial fraud schemes.

Which court is handling the OneCoin money laundering case in Germany?
The Munster District Court is the jurisdiction responsible for prosecuting the three OneCoin-related defendants indicted by Bielefeld's Public Prosecutor's Office. The proceedings represent a significant development after two years of investigative silence regarding the cryptocurrency fraud operation.

How does the German OneCoin investigation relate to US prosecution efforts?
The Bielefeld indictments appear connected to Mark Scott's OneCoin money laundering prosecution in the United States. Both cases involve transferring

🔗 Related Articles

- Bielefeld Prosecutor, Munich Police Commissioner deny Ignatova arrest
- Legal Punk Review: OneCoin lawyer launches MLM opp
- OneCoin Leaks: Schulenberg & Schenk legal opinion (2015)
- Bulgaria fobs Ruja Ignatova off to Germany (PR disaster)
- FinTokenAssets Review: “Trading tools” MLM crypto Ponzi