‘Operation Chargeback’ payment scam probe dealt court blow

KOBLENZ, Germany – A German probe into a 300 million euro (S$428 million) global payment-fraud has been dealt a blow after a court cast doubt on the investigation by prosecutors who say millions of credit card holders were duped in a scam that enlisted the help of payment-company executives.The court in Koblenz, where the first charges in the Operation Chargeback case were filed, has now told prosecutors more investigations are needed as a “central hypothesis” may no longer be valid.The judges are considering releasing the accused who are in pre-trial detention, prosecutors told Bloomberg in a statement.The court’s move came after it reviewed results of interviews prosecutors did in October with suspects held in the United States.No decision has yet been taken on the detained but it may come as early as Oct 29, a spokesman for the prosecutors said.Among the people indicted are Mirko Hullemann, former founder of payment company Unzer, ex-Wirecard manager Brigitte Hauser-Axtner and Ruben Weigand.Hullemann, Weigand and others have been in detention for more than a year now. They have denied the allegation.The Koblenz court didn’t immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment.In 2025, prosecutors disclosed a global probe when they raided more than 60 locations and arrested some 20 individuals as part of the investigation.They allege that networks of criminals defrauded people across the globe of more than 300 million euros by obtaining their credit card data and signing them up for fake porn, dating or other sites, with four German payment firms handling the illicit transactions.In total, German authorities have said they identified 44 suspects in their probe. BLOOMBERG