Due to the criminal act of fraud, several residents of Rijeka filed criminal charges against six suspects on Friday. Believing that it was a good business opportunity, several Rijeka residents began investing their money, amounting to millions of euros, in a project to open an Austrian-British bank.
In all the criminal charges filed on Friday morning, as well as in those that, according to lawyer Miroslav Vitaljić, who represents the victims, will be filed on Monday, the identical modus operandi of the six-member group of suspects is mentioned. All victims recount the same: the persuasion by the suspects to invest their money started with the story of opening an Austrian-British bank, but due to problems with Croatian bureaucracy and non-compliance with EU standards, this project is failing, and their money is allegedly being invested in various investment funds or in Forex, a risky currency trading, where their money is lost or blocked; however, some victims instead of money receive a security paper with which they go to banks to cash it, only to be met with laughter from the officials with the conclusion – that paper is worthless. (www.novilist.hr)
