The Attorney General Office working with the National Police announced the arrest of a suspect Russian network leader accused of committing fraud related to a pyramid medicinal cannabis scheme for EUR 645 million. The arrest of Sergei Berezin and/or Paul Bergholtz was made for deportation to Spain purposes.
Sergei Berezin/Paul Bergholtz was arrested in Bayahibe, La Altagracia province.
The Dominican Republic had received a request for international legal assistance from judicial authorities in Spain, acting after an investigation carried out by the Spanish National Police, with the collaboration of Europol, Eurojust and agents from other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. This action aimed to dismantle the criminal network that perpetrated the million-dollar scam internationally.
In response to this request for assistance, the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against High-Tech Crimes and Crimes (Pedatec) and the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office against Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, formed a multidisciplinary team, made up of members of the National Police and other state investigative agencies, who deployed extensive intelligence work that managed to locate the alleged leader of the organization, Russian citizen Sergei Berezin/Paul Bergholtz in a tourist condominium in Bayahibe, in the province of La Altagracia.
The investigators highlighted that based on the evidence collected the Public Ministry requested and obtained judicial authorization to carry out raids in three apartments linked to the Russian citizen, as well as an arrest warrant for extradition purposes issued by the Supreme Court of Justice.
As a result of this action, the Russian citizen was arrested in one of the apartments in Bayahibe.
A Monday, 15 April 2024 hearing will be held for preventive custody measures made by the Public Ministry against the accused while deportation procedures are initiated. Likewise, on the same Monday, the Supreme Court of Justice will carry out a hearing to decide on the deportation to Spain.
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15 April 2024