Wind Power Fraudster Holt Flees: European Arrest Warrant Issued After Farewell Email to Berlin Prison
Hendrik Holt, convicted of organised fraud, sent an email to prison after his escape stating he would not return. The Osnabrück public prosecutor's office issued a European arrest warrant.
Farewell Email and European Arrest Warrant After Escape from Open Prison
One day after his disappearance, wind power fraudster Hendrik Holt informed the Berlin correctional facility by email that he would not return. According to n-tv, the message arrived at the institution the day after his escape; according to NDR, it stated verbatim: "Hendrik Holt will not come back." The Osnabrück public prosecutor's office confirmed receipt of the email and subsequently issued a European arrest warrant.
Holt failed to return to the Berlin prison on Tuesday following an authorised outing, where he was held in open prison conditions. According to the Osnabrück public prosecutor's office, it was his 513th outing, according to a report in the "Neuen Osnabrücker Zeitung". The authority left the exact number open but confirmed that the 36-year-old from Haselünne in Emsland had been in open prison since the end of October 2024. A manhunt and investigation are ongoing; his current whereabouts are unknown.
Several media outlets meanwhile picked up on an Instagram post stating: "Greetings from Moscow – very nice here, the caviar is fantastic." The public prosecutor's office said it was aware of the post; given the ongoing manhunt, it did not wish to comment on it.
Rostock airport said Holt had not left Germany from there. "Every flight departing from here must be reported to the authorities with details of passengers – this applies to private and charter flights as well," said Karsten Lauth, project manager of airport operator Crisp Partners, to the "Neuen Osnabrücker Zeitung". Crisp Partners took over the civilian part of the airport in 2025. Lauth is also the husband of current airport managing director Ira Lauth.
According to Lauth, Holt had at the time established contact for the sale of the airport to Crisp Partners and put forward the idea of developing energy infrastructure at the site. Despite Holt's criminal record, Lauth described him as an "expert with networks and a planner". However, he explicitly emphasised: "But it is by no means the case that Holt is involved in the airport or Crisp Partners." According to Lauth, he and Holt know each other from Berlin networks; both originally come from Rhineland-Palatinate.
In 2022, the Osnabrück Regional Court sentenced Holt to a total custodial sentence of just under nine years – for organised fraud, bribery and forgery. He had allegedly sold non-existent wind parks to foreign electricity companies as if they actually existed. He is also said to have bribed foreign diplomats in order to protect himself from German prosecution with a diplomatic passport. The ARD produced a documentary about the case entitled "Holt – The Wind Power Swindler".
Source: n-tv