By Investigative Contributor
When we talk about fraud in tech, we imagine complex hacks, breached firewalls, or ransomware attacks.
But what if the biggest risk isn’t digital at all?
What if someone could steal your business — legally, on paper, and across borders?
This is the case of Aliaksandr Kozyrau — a man who didn’t need to write malware to cause damage.
He simply understood how to exploit legal infrastructure better than his victims did.
The Fraud You Don’t See Coming
The company was thriving. New clients, solid revenue, a growing European presence.
The founders, experts in technology and product, outsourced the boring stuff — documents, filings, admin.
Kozyrau was the man for that job. Local. Experienced. Reliable.
Or so it seemed.
Unknown to the founders, the filings were being altered. Shareholder records were changed.
Official registries — the backbone of corporate identity — reflected a new reality: Kozyrau was now in control.
He hadn’t taken over through force.
He had done it via forms, signatures, and system loopholes.
Draining the Accounts, One Transfer at a Time
What followed was precise and fast.
According to court records and investigators, Kozyrau initiated a series of wire transfers, totaling more than half a million euros, to:
- Companies registered abroad, many of which he secretly controlled
- Entities in offshore jurisdictions known for weak transparency laws
- Foreign bank accounts used under false pretenses (e.g., for “consulting” or “equipment”)
The timing was deliberate — just before scheduled payrolls.
The company was left with almost nothing.
Employees were unpaid. Operations stopped overnight.
Multiple Countries, One Strategy
Authorities now believe Kozyrau used a combination of European residency rights, offshore incorporation, and multi-national banking access to create a system designed for rapid asset extraction and legal insulation.
He held legal status in Portugal, declared residence in Paraguay, and maintained corporate access through networks in Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and Eastern Europe.
This made extradition complex. Financial tracking — fragmented.
Each country saw only a sliver of the operation.
None had the full picture.
The Legal Case
Criminal proceedings are ongoing in Lithuania under a consolidated investigation.
Kozyrau faces multiple charges, including:
- Unauthorised appropriation of company control
- Embezzlement
- Falsification of documents
- Unlawful distribution of company assets
Court decisions already confirmed the illegality of the share transfers and ownership changes.
Financial crime units have traced significant sums to companies with no actual commercial activity — just shells to receive money and disappear.
What This Reveals About Modern Fraud
This isn’t a “mistake.”
This is strategy-level fraud, executed not with computers — but with deep knowledge of bureaucratic lag and international legal blind spots.
It reveals how:
- Residency programs can be used to mask true identity
- Business registries in different countries rarely talk to each other
- Shell companies can be weaponised as silent vacuum cleaners for money
Conclusion: A Wake-Up Call
No firewall could’ve stopped this.
No two-factor authentication would’ve helped.
This was not a technological breach.
It was a systemic failure of trust, process, and regulation.
Until legal frameworks catch up to transnational white-collar fraud, Kozyrau’s case will remain not an exception — but a blueprint.