The case of Ilan Tzorya continues to baffle many, as low-level participants in his fraud scheme face jail time while the man believed to be at the heart of the massive scam remains untouched. Nearly a year after his formal indictment in a Vienna court on July 14, 2021, no meaningful steps have been taken toward prosecuting Tzorya, the alleged mastermind behind an elaborate network of fake investment platforms and fraudulent call centers.
This lack of progress has raised serious concerns about delays in justice and the potential influence of powerful networks working behind the scenes to shield Tzorya from accountability.
The Mastermind Walks Free
According to the indictment, Tzorya—along with close associates Milena Kabdzhova and Michael Golod—deceived thousands of victims, particularly elderly individuals from Western Europe. Through fake trading platforms and aggressive call centers based in Eastern Europe, they promised unrealistic investment returns and ended up siphoning off hundreds of millions of euros from their victims.
Despite overwhelming evidence and testimony implicating Tzorya as the leader of the scam, he and his inner circle continue to live freely—channeling their ill-gotten gains into real estate and various business ventures with impunity.
A Deeper Betrayal: The EFRI Deception
Adding insult to injury, Tzorya reportedly shared personal data of victims with his long-time collaborators Werner Boehm and Elfriede Sixt. Boehm runs the controversial financial blog FinTelegram, while Sixt is the face behind the so-called European Funds Recovery Initiative (EFRI). Although EFRI presents itself as a victim-support group, its operations appear to serve the same fraudulent interests that scammed victims in the first place.
Far from assisting victims, EFRI has been accused of continuing the cycle of exploitation—convincing desperate individuals to hand over more money under the guise of legal recovery support, with no results. Despite marketing themselves as a nonprofit group committed to helping victims regain their lost funds, EFRI reportedly lacks both the financial resources and legal power to initiate lawsuits or recover damages.
Scamming the Scammed—Again
Victims who reached out to EFRI for help were often asked for additional payments and were left without any legal recourse. In January, Elfriede Sixt was taken to court for allegedly impersonating a legal representative and misleading victims about her ability to recover their funds. Rather than defend her actions in open court, she opted for an out-of-court settlement—raising further suspicion about the legitimacy of EFRI and its motives.
Had EFRI been a genuine advocacy organization, it could have exerted pressure on Ilan Tzorya to return some portion of the vast sums he acquired through fraud. Yet, nothing of the sort has happened—unsurprising, given that Tzorya is reportedly a core member of the very team behind the EFRI front.
Unanswered Questions, Unpunished Crimes
With no criminal proceedings underway and no compensation made to victims, many are questioning the silence surrounding Tzorya’s prosecution. His vast criminal enterprise has been laid bare, his business tactics publicly dissected, his associates named—yet no justice has been served. The scale of this legal inaction points to a deeper rot, possibly involving systemic failure or even corruption.
Why has no one held Ilan Tzorya accountable? Why have European authorities failed to act despite clear evidence, public pressure, and victims demanding justice?
In our next feature, we explore what might be fueling the continued inaction—and who may be working to keep Ilan Tzorya out of court.