news can now tell details about the top-secret, international police investigation. The accused are suspected of defrauding the elderly throughout the Nordic region – and Norwegian victims have suffered the greatest losses, Finnish police tell news. The criminal network Loyal To Familia (LTF) is banned in Denmark. There, they are linked to a number of murders, attempted murders and extensive drug crime. Eight people with citizenship or residential address in Denmark were arrested in Helsinki in June. – Two of the arrested are members of LTF, while several others are considered to be related to the gang, Danish police say. – It is the police’s assessment that several of the eight arrested are behind the network, it says. The Norwegian police attorney Christian Stenberg says the police believe that the Danish gang criminals have organized the frauds. – Our hypothesis is that it is Norwegians who have called the aggrieved, and taken the phone call itself, he says to news. He says the police currently know little about how Danish “organisers” came into contact with Norwegian “callers”. Five people were arrested in a rental car near Helsinki airport. They were about to leave the country when they were arrested, say Finnish police. Photo: Finnish police One of those in custody in Norway is a Danish citizen. Stenberg says the police believe he had “a more senior role”. Even more of the Danish criminals can be transferred here, he further confirms. – This environment is still being investigated, and it is likely that parts of the case will be taken to court in Finland, and parts in Norway. The Danes must also see if they find criminal fraud committed in Denmark against Danish citizens. The police found 30,000 euros in cash in a rental car used by the perpetrators. Photo: Finnish police Loss of around NOK 12 million Most of the victims are Norwegian and it is Norwegians who have lost the most money to the frauds. The case is still growing in scope. – Each victim has lost at least a couple of thousand euros, some of them considerably more. In total, the financial loss among the victims in the case we are investigating is around one million euros, says Chief Constable Janne Takkunen in the Finnish police to news. Janne Takkunen leads the investigation, which is a collaboration between Finnish, Norwegian and Danish police. Photo: private One million euros corresponds to almost NOK 12 million. At least 25 people have been arrested in Norway and Finland in connection with the case. The nine Norwegians, all aged between 19 and 25, are in custody in Norway. Three of the Norwegians who were arrested in Finland on 4 June are currently being handed over to Norway. A further two were released in Finland and arrested in Norway later this autumn. A Norwegian 19-year-old was arrested in Norway in July this year. In October, a Danish citizen and three Norwegian men were arrested in Oslo. According to one of the most recent arrest warrants, Norwegian police have seized 53 electronic devices. One of the Norwegian accused was extradited from Finland on board this plane on 15 November. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news Øystein Storrvik is the defense attorney for the Danish citizen who is imprisoned in Norway. His client denies criminal guilt, and denies having had a superior role. – We believe the evidence does not support such a claim. He was released in Finland and arrested again here, and believes that there is no evidentiary basis to say that he has such a role, says Storrvik to news. – Several Danes are detained in Finland. Is your client aware of these? – I have no information about that, replies Storrvik. Action against flat in Helsinki Several of the accused in the fraud case are said to have been in the flat. which is equipped with checkered parquet and marble slabs on the kitchen counter when they called elderly people throughout the Nordics. The apartment served as the gang’s “call centre”. Those who lived and worked there pretended to be bank employees and police when they called the victims. Several of them had their accounts drained of millions of kroner. – Groups of people have gathered at certain addresses. From there, they have called mainly elderly people in various countries, and persuaded them to give up their login to the bank, says Superintendent Takkunen, who leads the police cooperation between Finland, Norway and Denmark. The police describe the fraud network as a “multinational unit”. Takkunen says that similar call centers have appeared in several different countries. – We think it has a rather professional feel. We see traces that some have been organisers, some have recruited, and some have been callers. That in itself gives a very organizational feel, says police attorney Stenberg. – Less risky than drugs In previous prison sentences it is stated that the frauds against the elderly in the Nordics have not ceased after the arrests. “There are several other people involved that the police do not have an overview of”, says a ruling from the Oslo district court. At the same time, police attorney Stenberg says that this form of fraud stopped around a month ago. – That there is a focus on it is preventive. I also think that we have arrested a lot of people who have been involved in this. So all those arrests, in addition to the media coverage, have sent a strong signal to those who have been doing it, and it may look like they have stopped, he says. Superintendent Takkunen believes it is too early to say whether we will see less of this type of fraud in the Nordics in the future as a result of the investigation. – But it seems as if we have managed to deal with at least one active cell that was responsible for a significant crime wave, says Takkunen. He emphasizes that similar cells still exist. – This appears to be a less risky method for criminals than other types of crime, such as drug crime. The proportion of “successful” cases is also relatively high. Bjørn Aksel Henriksen’s client, a 22-year-old man, pleads not guilty. – The charge is far too vague and my client has not had access to documents, so it is completely impossible to relate to the charge, says the defense attorney to news. The defender of the man who was extradited to Norway two weeks ago, Espen Wangberg, says his client also denies criminal guilt. Marius Dietrichson’s client also does it. The 19-year-old pleads guilty for his involvement in Finland, where he was for a short period, says his defender Tor Even Gjendem. Published 28.11.2024, at 09.30
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Notorious Danish gang behind multimillion-dollar frauds of Norwegian elderly people – the fraudsters lived here – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
