Convicted fraudster Hendrick Holt is on the run after escaping from a Berlin prison. Holt was imprisoned for selling wind farms that didn’t exist and was sentenced to nine years in prison. According to the Osnabrück public prosecutor’s office, the 36-year-old failed to return to the prison complex after an authorised leave. “There is now evidence suggesting that he escaped,” said a spokesperson for the authorities. A man-hunt is now underway.
NDR reported that Holt may be in Moscow. An Instagram account apparently belonging to Holt posted a picture with the caption “Greetings from Moscow, very beautiful here, the caviar is fantastic.”
Holt was arrested in 2020 at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, and in 2022 he was sentenced by the Osnabrück Regional Court in several trials to a total prison term of almost nine years. The charges included organised fraud, bribery and forgery.
As reported by Die Welt this month, Holt allegedly used intermediaries to purchase Rostock-Laage Airport from prison for €3.1 million. According to the report, it is unclear to what extent Holt personally contributed funds to the airport purchase. He is currently facing insolvency proceedings.
