| The victim of French justice intends to achieve satisfaction In France, the trial of the former head of the security service of the largest Russian processing company Union Card, Andrei Golov, recently ended. A graduate of the FSB Academy is the main person involved in an investigation by international intelligence agencies into the theft of a database of more than 100 thousand credit card owners, who as a result lost at least $2 million. Several years ago, Golov was arrested by the authorities of Cyprus and transferred to France. In September, his trial began, and as a result, he was given a rather lenient sentence - only two years in prison, which the Russian had already served. He was released right in the courtroom, and Golov immediately flew to Moscow. Here he had already prepared a protest against the decision of the French judges, protesting his innocence, and a claim for compensation for the damage caused.
Immediately after graduating from the FSB Academy, Andrei Golov got a job at FAPSI and at the same time began collaborating with Union Card, which services Visa Card, Master Card, etc. Since financial transactions carried out by foreigners using plastic cards in Russia pass through this structure, the FAPSI representative clearly did not choose this place for part-time work by chance. Soon Golov headed the security service of Union Card, and until 1999, the company highly valued the young employee. But then widespread cases began when foreigners who used plastic cards in Russia began to notice the disappearance of large sums from their accounts. It was not possible to prove Golov’s guilt then, and Union Card simply suggested that he resign. After this, Golov left for Cyprus.
He again attracted the attention of the security services after several Swedes were arrested in Denmark with a large amount of so-called “white plastic” - copies of real credit cards, with the help of which money is stolen from other people’s accounts. The detainees admitted that their compatriot Magnus Jacobson gave them the forgeries, and during interrogations he testified against Golov. According to Jacobson, he met the head of the Union Card security service via the Internet and in July 1999 came to Moscow for negotiations. Here Yakobson gave Golov 15 thousand dollars, and then twice transferred money to the Russian’s accounts in Popular Bank (Cyprus) - 60 and 130 thousand dollars. In return, Golov, according to European intelligence services, supplied the Swede with data on card owners and transferred everything he received information about 11.7 thousand credit cards. At the same time, the French and German police found out that in addition to Jacobson, Golov had other clients who paid the Russian through Latvian banks. In total, as international intelligence agencies suspected, a representative of Union Card could have stolen databases of 100 thousand cardholders.
As a result, Andrei Golov was arrested in Cyprus, where, according to our information, a representative delegation from the United States immediately flew in, the members of which presented identification as employees of the secret service of the Ministry of Finance. They interrogated Golov and were very interested in the laptops seized from him. Apparently, the Americans, knowing about the Russian’s work at FAPSI, suspected that they had encountered a secret agent, but then, disappointed, flew back. After this, the Cypriot authorities transferred Golov to Paris, where the “card case” was also investigated. In France, for a long time they could not hack the files on the Russians’ laptops, which contained information about the stolen cards, and as soon as they succeeded, the case was sent to court. In addition to the data from Golov’s computer, the testimony of Magnus Jacobson was presented at the trial. However, the court found them unconvincing. All episodes of card fraud committed in other countries were also rejected. As a result, the former head of the Union Card security service was found guilty of merely stealing data on eight cardholders - French citizens. Alexander SHVAREV |
|
