This report from the Business of Cannabis, published on 13 November 2024.

Leaders of the now notorious cannabis investment scam Juicy Fields are finally being brought to justice, two years after the company collapsed and hundreds of millions of Euro’s of investors money were lost.

This week, it was revealed that two German citizens thought to be at the very top of what is suspected to be a Russian state-sanctioned scam, will see charges brought against them by the Berlin public prosecutor’s office.

This follows a long and complex investigation by both international police services, including Europol and Eurojust, as well as an in-depth deep dive into the company by a team of journalists.

While prosecutions are continuing across multiple countries, the vast majority of the €645m invested into the scheme remains lost, and victims remain unlikely to receive any compensation.

What happened?

Juicy Fields, an alleged cannabis investment platform, collapsed in July 2022, revealing what is now known as a massive fraud operation with at least €645m invested worldwide.

Investors were promised large returns on ‘virtual cannabis plantations,’ but when suspicions arose, it became clear that funds had vanished. The fallout exposed a network of largely Russian individuals using false identities and fake passports.

Now, according to a new report published by an international team of journalists from CORRECTIV, in cooperation with DR(Danish Radio), Spiegel, Paper Trail Media , ZDF, the Dutch broadcaster BNNVARA, the standardin Austria and Svenska Dagbladet in Sweden, Russian-German Viktor Bitner, and a German count who calls himself Friedrich Ulrich Graf von Luxburg Fürst zu Carolath-Beuthen are set to be charged.

In April 2024, large-scale raids on suspects in the Juicy Fields Ponzi scheme led to significant asset seizures and arrests across 11 countries.

Over 400 law enforcement officers carried out 38 searches, seizing a total of €4.7m in bank accounts, €1.5m in cryptocurrencies, €106,000 in cash, and €2.6m in real estate.

Additional luxury items, including cars and artwork, were confiscated along with numerous electronic devices and documents, aiding the investigation into one of Europe’s largest cannabis-related fraud cases.

Months later, the Office of the Attorney General (PGR) secured a ruling authorizing the extradition of Russian citizen Sergei Berezin to Spain, following a request from Spanish authorities to prosecute Berezin for aggravated fraud, money laundering, and membership in a criminal organisation. He is now believed to be the mastermind behind this scheme.

Speaking to Business of Cannabis, Eurojust, which was instrumental in coordinating the international case against Juicy Fields, said that this was the first case they have dealt with where ‘legal’ cannabis was involved.

“In the case of Juicy Fields, it was clear from the outset that many countries were involved, so it took time to get a clear overview.

“Eurojust’s staff, national members, their assistants, and my direct colleagues in operations all work to set up coordination efforts, such as central coordination centers or coordination meetings.

“In this case, we established a Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which is the most comprehensive tool for international cooperation. A JIT allows investigators from one country to work actively in another and enables automatic sharing of evidence and information.”

Shady details emerge from new report 

Following conversations with witnesses, former employees, and experts, the team of reporters has managed to uncover new details behind the network and structure of the operation, including ties to the Russian mafia.

The story begins in Berlin, where Juicy Fields operated out of a small office. Initially, the company projected a successful cannabis venture, with a frontman named Victor Bitner, who has ties to Russian organized crime.

Bitner was a pawn, later accused by Juicy Fields’ leaders of stealing €1.5m. This led the company’s ‘head of security,’ Igor Kekshin, to pursue Bitner.

The directive escalated to a murder order, allegedly from Berezin, Juicy Fields’ suspected mastermind. Bitner fled, and Kekshin later became a witness against Juicy Fields, providing testimony to European authorities.

Kekshin, who had previously worked for the Wagner Group after serving a prison sentence for kidnapping and extortion, told investigators he knew Juicy Fields was a fraudulent scheme from the start, designed to take investors’ money without fulfilling the promised investments.

Research into Juicy Fields reveals an organized structure with Berezin and Vitaly Markevich at the top, managing a network of individuals involved in money laundering, social media, and banking.

According to reporting from DR, Markevich remains a free man, despite an arrest warrant being issued during the April international raids. Russia has refused to cooperate with the international investigation and will not extradite him for his alleged involvement.

It’s also revealed that some individuals raised funds from criminal groups in Saint Petersburg to finance the fraudulent operations.

As previously reported by Business of Cannabis, experts believe such large-scale fraud would require political protection, and Russian secret services likely turned a blind eye to these operations, which might even serve political purposes, such as generating chaos or gathering intelligence.

Follow the money

In 2021, the company underwent structural changes: Berlin-based Juicy Grow GmbH acquired a 20% stake in a Swiss company, which was renamed Juicyfields AG, and several individuals with noble titles joined the board.

Among them was Friedrich Ulrich Graf von Luxburg Fürst zu Carolath-Beuthen. In the summer of 2022, criminal investigators began focusing on the German businessmen and managers from the Luxburg Carolath Group in connection with Juicy Fields, including von Luxburg, who claimed to be a victim and blamed the Russian masterminds behind the operation.

However, investigators view these claims as defensive.

Despite fabricating his noble lineage, he used the title to gain social leverage. He spent nine years in prison for previous fraud schemes, including selling non-existent investments in a fake bank and a non-existent wind turbine company.

After Juicy Fields collapsed in August 2022, the police raided von Luxburg’s office and villa, uncovering €349,000 in cash, as well as evidence of international financial dealings in places like Venezuela and Switzerland. Authorities believe von Luxburg acted as a money launderer for the Juicy Fields operation, potentially receiving up to €5m for his role.

Investigators traced the money flows from Juicy Fields through large international networks involving more than 50 companies across 20 countries, with funds funneled through Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, and Estonia before being split into cryptocurrency and dissipated.

Meanwhile, financial analysis revealed suspicious crypto transactions leading to Garantex, a Moscow-based exchange with ties to criminal and terrorist financing, which is sanctioned in the USA.

There are also reported connections between Garantex and the Russian government. It’s believed that some of the remaining funds were used by Berezin and his partner to purchase properties in Tenerife and invest in local cannabis clubs.

The Juicy Fields case continues to unravel with bizarre twists, many of which seem to be calculated moves by the masterminds to confuse and distract authorities and the media.

In late 2023, a series of attacks were made against the former Juicy Fields CEO, Count Stefan von Luxburg, including the arson of his car and a graffiti message reading ‘From Russia with Love.’

Despite these intimidation efforts, the investigation is moving forward. Public prosecutor Ina Kinder is focusing on key suspects like Victor Bitner and Friedrich von Luxburg, seeking to keep the case manageable and avoid unnecessary complexity.

Meanwhile, Sergei Berezin remains in prison, awaiting his trial in Spain.

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