Wind power fraudster Hendrik Holt flees – left email saying "not coming back"
Convicted fraudster Hendrik Holt escaped during an authorised leave and subsequently sent a farewell message to the Berlin prison.
Fugitive wind power fraudster sends farewell email to prison
Hendrik Holt, convicted of gang-related wind power fraud, has been on the run since Tuesday – and let his pursuers know via email that he will not be returning. According to DER SPIEGEL (Justice & Crime), Holt failed to return from an authorised leave to the Berlin Correctional Institution, where he was being held in open custody. One day after his disappearance, an email arrived at the facility which, according to NDR, read verbatim: "Hendrik Holt is not coming back."
The Osnabrück State Prosecutor's Office confirmed receipt of the message. According to prosecutors, Holt had indicated in the letter, in essence, that he would not return. While the letter appeared to have a sender, no further details were provided about it. A European arrest warrant has since been issued, a spokesman for the authority said.
His actual whereabouts are currently unknown. Several media outlets picked up on an Instagram post stating: "Greetings of love from Moscow, it is very beautiful here, the caviar is fantastic." Another photo showed sea urchins on ice in a restaurant, tagged with the location Moscow and set to the Russian national anthem. The state prosecutor's office said it was aware of the post but did not wish to make any assessment given the ongoing manhunt. Meanwhile, Rostock Airport confirmed that Holt did not leave Germany from there.
The 36-year-old from Haselünne is regarded as one of the most audacious investment fraudsters of recent years. He had allegedly sold non-existent wind parks to foreign electricity companies and defrauded three state energy companies of around ten million euros. In 2022, the Osnabrück Regional Court sentenced him to a total of almost nine years imprisonment for gang-related fraud, bribery and forgery. A Europe-wide manhunt is now under way for the 36-year-old.