Croatian businessman Josip Heit is facing scrutiny over alleged links to Ponzi-style schemes and money laundering. Though he promotes an image of a successful luxury investor, his suspected criminal ties and warnings from Germany’s financial regulator about unauthorized crypto activity raise serious concerns.

A Croatian businessman has been under global regulatory and judicial scrutiny for years. Having previously served a prison sentence in Luxembourg, he now presents himself as a successful entrepreneur with multiple luxury properties and cars, which he showcases on social media. Heit has been linked to cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes under investigation by regulators in the US, Canada, Germany, South Africa and New Zealand. Heit is currently under investigation by the State Attorney’s Office in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, for suspected money laundering.

This month, the German Financial Regulatory Authority issued a warning regarding a new entity linked to Heit and informed citizens that no authorisation has been granted for trading crypto assets. Nevertheless, a new coin is being promoted through webinars and German-language channels on social media, as well as at local events in Germany.

In Croatia, journalists have traced the early business activities of Heit’s associate and brother-in-law, Saša Svalina, revealing his ties to the Russian businessman Mikhail Slobodin, as well as suspicious money transfers through internal share transactions. Documents in Romania reveal that Ovidiu Cocoș and Alexandru Nicolae Bodi are directly linked to Josip Heit in the management of real estate assets and luxury cars. Bodi was investigated for human trafficking and organised crime, while Cocoș is related to Lia Savonea, who is now Chief Judge of Romania’s Supreme Court. Reporters examined documents obtained from several sources, as well as financial statements and official registries, to map Heit’s complex network of assets and associates. These documents included those from Cyprus Confidential, an ICIJ project.

Key Findings

• The County State Attorney’s Office in Split informed Oštro that they had forwarded the criminal case file to the Municipal State Attorney’s Office to check for evidence of money laundering. They added that investigative measures were being carried out and were confidential.
• While Josip Heit and his group of companies are under scrutiny from the authorities in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, few people know that he has purchased several properties in Romania. Some of the real estate and cars are registered in his name, while others appear to be owned by two of his Romanian friends on paper.
• Documents obtained by reporters show that Heit directly owns or has owned apartments or villas in Romania worth at least €4.2 million. He even managed to purchase a building in a Transylvanian village that used to be an evangelical school, as well as half of a hotel.
• Other properties were identified by reporters in Dubai.
• Josip Heit’s friend, Romanian national Alex Bodi, is still under criminal investigation for human trafficking. Authorities in Germany and Romania have linked Bodi with the Hells Angels, a criminal motorcycle gang.