AI Deepfake Scam Costs Belgian Woman €410,000 in Savings

A 75-year-old Belgian retiree has lost her entire life savings of €410,000 after falling victim to a sophisticated AI-powered investment scam that used a deepfake video of a well-known television presenter. An investigation by RTBF, in collaboration with Kazakh media Vlast and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), has traced the criminal network across four continents, exposing a highly organized “fraud as a service” operation.

The Deepfake Deception

Éliane, a retired property manager, came across a video on social media featuring Fanny Jandrain, a presenter on RTBF’s consumer magazine “On n’est pas des pigeons.” The video appeared to show Jandrain enthusiastically endorsing a trading platform called Premium Yields. “It was completely natural. It was Fanny Jandrain. It was completely real,” Éliane told investigators.

In reality, the video was a deepfake — an AI-generated manipulation that had stolen Jandrain’s likeness without her consent. “Knowing that someone fell for a scam because my image was used… It’s destabilizing,” Jandrain said. “When you see how they manipulate people, you realize it could happen to anyone.”

A Web of Deception

After clicking the link, Éliane was contacted by a call center that gradually built her trust. She invested small amounts initially, then sold the home she had owned for over 50 years. “I invested €410,000 and then they cut everything off,” she said. “These are life’s harvests. They pluck them right from under your nose.”

Christian, a retired civil engineer from Namur, lost €35,000 in the same scam. The scammers spent three months earning his trust by returning small sums. “I think they have an incredible psychological power,” he said.

Tracing the Criminal Network

The investigation revealed a four-tier criminal enterprise spanning multiple countries. At the top, Kazakh web designer Andrey Siluyanov, 41, created Premium Yields and at least 50 other fraudulent trading platforms. Despite being named in a 2024 Swedish anti-fraud investigation by Qurium, he has never faced criminal proceedings in Kazakhstan.

Call centers operating the fraud were traced to Lithuania — specifically the cities of Klaipėda, Vilnius, and Šiauliai — using a “honeypot” file sent by Éliane with the help of an ethical hacker. The money laundering infrastructure was operated by two Cypriot brothers, Pavlos and Kyriacos Mettis, who ran shell companies in the UK and Italy. Kyriacos Mettis holds 95 positions across 57 companies worldwide.

The Israeli Connection

The investigation uncovered links to Pini Peter (Pinhas Patarkazishvili), known as the “king of binary options” and founder of SpotOption. Peter was ordered to pay $87 million in a US Securities and Exchange Commission civil case. The same Kazakh web designers who created Premium Yields had previously built landing pages for Peter’s binary options platform Vulkantrade in 2014-2015, as documented by Vlast.

A Growing Crisis

The scam is part of a rapidly escalating global phenomenon. According to Interpol’s 2026 Global Financial Fraud Threat Assessment, AI-enhanced fraud is now 4.5 times more profitable than traditional methods. Chainalysis estimates $17 billion was stolen globally in crypto-enabled scams in 2025.

In Belgium and Germany alone, known losses from these platforms exceed €7 million. The Belgian financial regulator FSMA has received approximately 160 consumer complaints representing €3 million in losses. In Bavaria, Germany, over 100 complaints represent €4 million in losses.

“We are facing a ‘scamdemic,’ an epidemic of fraud,” said Nino Goldbeck, chief cybercrime prosecutor in Bavaria. “Across Europe, billions of euros end up in the pockets of fraudsters and organized crime groups.” Goldbeck warned that at least three or four suicides have been linked to similar scams in Germany alone.

Justice Remains Elusive

Both victims describe feeling abandoned by authorities. Éliane filed a police complaint in April 2025 but received no follow-up for over a year. Christian reported the scam via Police-on-Web in February 2025, but no case was opened for a year.

Goldbeck acknowledged the immense challenges of cross-border investigations: “It’s never a sprint. It’s always a marathon.” He noted that the OCCRP’s “Scam Empire” investigation from March 2025 revealed how these networks operate with near-impunity across jurisdictions.

What to Watch For

As AI tools become more accessible and realistic, experts warn that deepfake-powered financial scams will grow exponentially. The case highlights urgent questions about international law enforcement cooperation, AI content regulation, and consumer protection in the digital age. For Éliane, the trauma is compounded by the knowledge that the scammers are still active — she continues to receive calls from them, even now.