Escaped wind power fraudster Hendrik Holt arrested in Dubai

The escaped wind power fraudster Hendrik Holt has been arrested in Dubai. The wanted man was arrested as a result of the joint search measures of the Osnabrück public prosecutor's office and the directorate search of the Osnabrück Central Criminal Inspectorate, said a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office. Holt is still in Dubai. Before his extradition, the relevant documents would first have to be sent to Dubai.

Holt was sentenced to almost nine years in prison in 2022 for gang fraud, bribery and forgery. Holt has been in open prison in Berlin since October 2024. In August he finally failed to return to the prison in Berlin from an approved exit. The 36-year-old has been wanted ever since. In an Instagram post he suggested that he was in Moscow. At the time, the Osnabrück public prosecutor's office did not provide any information about the authenticity of the post.

Sold wind farms that didn't exist

Holt also emailed authorities a message the day after his escape. The authorities said at the time that he had sent word that he would not be returning.

Among other things, Holt had sold non-existent wind farms to foreign electricity companies. He also bribed foreign diplomats to make himself immune from German prosecutors with a diplomatic passport.