Russian leader of cannabis fraud extradited to Spain

Santo Domingo.- The Public Prosecutor’s Office secured the extradition of Sergei Berezin, a Russian national and leader of an international criminal organization responsible for defrauding over 645 million euros through fake investments in medicinal cannabis. The extradition to Spain, where Berezin faces charges of aggravated fraud, money laundering, and criminal organization membership, was granted by the Supreme Court of Justice, which also upheld Berezin’s preventive detention.

Berezin led the Juicy Fields platform, which promised investors massive returns on cannabis cultivation projects. However, it was revealed through a joint investigation by Spanish, German, and French authorities that the operation was a Ponzi scheme. Instead of investing in cannabis, the funds were partially returned to victims and used to sustain the fraudulent operation, with most of the money vanishing into a complex web of companies and accounts across Europe.

The investigation uncovered that Juicy Fields defrauded investors of over 645 million euros, collected in both fiat currency and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Berezin is implicated in another similar fraud, known as Recyclix, where he allegedly embezzled 39 million euros under the alias “Mark Kowal.”