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How come Sinkieland hiding all kinds of frausters, got Tiongs, cECAs, Angmos etc etc ?
Wirecard has been mired in legal trouble after filing for bankruptcy in June 2020.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Published Nov 13, 2025, 11:30 AM
Updated Nov 13, 2025, 03:36 PM
SINGAPORE – A former director of Wirecard Asia was arrested in Singapore on Nov 4 during a worldwide sweep involving more than a dozen people linked to fraud syndicates, The Straits Times has learnt.
Brigitte Hauser-Axtner, who is wanted in Germany, was arrested by the Singapore Police Force in the course of
a worldwide law enforcement operation
in which suspects linked to three major fraud and money laundering networks were nabbed.
Four major payment service providers in Germany are said to have been used by the criminal networks to process and launder the transactions, said the European Union’s law enforcement arm Europol, and while it did not name them, German investigative news outlet Der Spiegel identified Wirecard as one of them.
All in, the German authorities said 18 people were arrested in the raids, dubbed Operation Chargeback, news agency Reuters said on Nov 5.
The enforcement sweep kicked into gear on Nov 4, and the authorities searched buildings in Germany, the US, Canada, Singapore, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.
Five people were arrested in the US while another two were arrested in Cyprus.
Wirecard, a German fintech and digital payments firm, has been mired in legal trouble after
filing for bankruptcy in June 2020
, when it disclosed that €1.9 billion (S$2.9 billion) of cash, supposed to be in bank accounts in the Philippines, did not exist.
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The German national is wanted for the “alleged formation of a criminal organisation abroad, computer fraud, gang-related and money laundering offences committed under the jurisdiction of Germany”.
Based on the information the police received, she did not commit any offence in Singapore.
They added that they were unable to provide further details because investigations by the German authorities are ongoing.
A further mention of her case will be heard on Nov 18.
Singapore has a bilateral extradition treaty with Germany which requires both countries to agree to the reciprocal handing over of fugitives in “the interest of law and order”, and the two countries must also find it mutually beneficial for such an arrangement, according to a parliamentary reply in 2016.
Damage racked up by the suspects added up to more than €300 million, said Europol.
The suspects siphoned funds via subscriptions to fake websites designed for streaming, dating and entertainment, Reuters reported.
Each subscription was kept at about €50 and accompanied by vague descriptions, making it difficult for card holders to identify the charges as unauthorised transactions.
Europol added that six suspects, including executives and compliance officers, are accused of colluding with the criminal networks by allowing them to access payment infrastructure in exchange for payments.
Shell companies mainly registered in Britain and Cyprus were also employed to enable the fraudulent transactions, while keeping the risk of chargebacks and detection low.
Credit card holders should also monitor their card transactions regularly for any suspicious activity, it added.
“Members of the public should also set low transaction notification thresholds and be alert to notifications from their banks,” MAS said.
If credit cards are lost or stolen, or if unauthorised transactions are detected, immediately notify the bank that issued the credit card, it added
Ex-Wirecard Asia director nabbed in S’pore; German linked to global ring that defrauded 4.3m victims
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Wirecard has been mired in legal trouble after filing for bankruptcy in June 2020.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CrimePublished Nov 13, 2025, 11:30 AM
Updated Nov 13, 2025, 03:36 PM
SINGAPORE – A former director of Wirecard Asia was arrested in Singapore on Nov 4 during a worldwide sweep involving more than a dozen people linked to fraud syndicates, The Straits Times has learnt.
Brigitte Hauser-Axtner, who is wanted in Germany, was arrested by the Singapore Police Force in the course of
a worldwide law enforcement operation
in which suspects linked to three major fraud and money laundering networks were nabbed.
Four major payment service providers in Germany are said to have been used by the criminal networks to process and launder the transactions, said the European Union’s law enforcement arm Europol, and while it did not name them, German investigative news outlet Der Spiegel identified Wirecard as one of them.
All in, the German authorities said 18 people were arrested in the raids, dubbed Operation Chargeback, news agency Reuters said on Nov 5.
The enforcement sweep kicked into gear on Nov 4, and the authorities searched buildings in Germany, the US, Canada, Singapore, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.
Five people were arrested in the US while another two were arrested in Cyprus.
Wirecard, a German fintech and digital payments firm, has been mired in legal trouble after
filing for bankruptcy in June 2020
, when it disclosed that €1.9 billion (S$2.9 billion) of cash, supposed to be in bank accounts in the Philippines, did not exist.
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In response to queries, the Singapore police said they arrested a German national after the German authorities made a request under an extradition pact between the two countries.The German national is wanted for the “alleged formation of a criminal organisation abroad, computer fraud, gang-related and money laundering offences committed under the jurisdiction of Germany”.
Based on the information the police received, she did not commit any offence in Singapore.
They added that they were unable to provide further details because investigations by the German authorities are ongoing.
A further mention of her case will be heard on Nov 18.
Singapore has a bilateral extradition treaty with Germany which requires both countries to agree to the reciprocal handing over of fugitives in “the interest of law and order”, and the two countries must also find it mutually beneficial for such an arrangement, according to a parliamentary reply in 2016.
More than 4.3 million victims in 5 years
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office and prosecutors said that between 2016 and 2021, the suspects used credit card details of more than 4.3 million individuals from 193 countries in their scheme.Damage racked up by the suspects added up to more than €300 million, said Europol.
The suspects siphoned funds via subscriptions to fake websites designed for streaming, dating and entertainment, Reuters reported.
Each subscription was kept at about €50 and accompanied by vague descriptions, making it difficult for card holders to identify the charges as unauthorised transactions.
Europol added that six suspects, including executives and compliance officers, are accused of colluding with the criminal networks by allowing them to access payment infrastructure in exchange for payments.
Shell companies mainly registered in Britain and Cyprus were also employed to enable the fraudulent transactions, while keeping the risk of chargebacks and detection low.
Credit card holders must be on guard: MAS
In response to queries, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said credit card holders need to be vigilant against card fraud, as well as adopt steps to protect themselves.Credit card holders should also monitor their card transactions regularly for any suspicious activity, it added.
“Members of the public should also set low transaction notification thresholds and be alert to notifications from their banks,” MAS said.
If credit cards are lost or stolen, or if unauthorised transactions are detected, immediately notify the bank that issued the credit card, it added
