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New trial against Black Ax: gang fraud and love scams uncovered
A new trial in Delmenhorst concerns five defendants who are accused of gang fraud and money laundering in connection with the “Black Axe”.
New trial against Black Ax: gang fraud and love scams uncovered
The case of the “Black Ax” has once again made headlines in Delmenhorst. OnJanuary 15, 2026A new trial began in the Oldenburg regional court, which is dedicated to a criminal network that deals with gang fraud and money laundering. The focus of these hearings are five defendants between the ages of 43 and 49, all of whom are associated with a variety of illegal activities. These new allegations do not come as a complete surprise, as three other defendants were already convicted at the end of 2025 for their involvement in the “Black Ax Confraternity”.
The charges against these five men include a total of 66 acts, which were mainly committed as part of “love scamming”. This is a perfidious method in which online platforms are used to steal money from unsuspecting victims under the pretext of a romantic relationship. The acts resulted in victims from all over Germany and Europe losing several thousand euros, as the Weser-Kurier reports. There is even a particularly blatant case in which the sum of 48,000 euros was transferred. Invoice fraud and other financial crimes are also part of the indictment.
A complex web of crimes
The investigating authorities have identified an international network that is behind these frauds. For example, it was estimated that the total amount of damage caused by the “Black Ax” machinations in Germany was around1.8 million eurosamounts. The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) have also prepared reports that document the dimensions and structures of this criminal organization, whose roots grew out of student brotherhoods in the 1960s and 1970s.
An anecdote from an earlier trial is particularly striking: In one case, a 46-year-old from Delmenhorst was convicted who confessed to being a member of the brotherhood and to having been involved in numerous fraud and money laundering activities. His sentence is five years in prison, which illustrates the dimensions of this trial - it is the first conviction in Germany for membership in the "Black Ax", which is often popularly referred to as the Nigerian mafia.
International dimensions
There is also a worrying international dimension to Black Ax's activities. The public prosecutor's office has now even spoken of an international network of perpetrators that extends into several countries. Daily Mirror highlights that the “love scam” extends across borders. In another example, a woman is said to have transferred 235,000 euros to fraudsters who used false identities. Such machinations show how far-reaching the activities of these groups are and how many people they put at risk.
The negotiations before the Oldenburg regional court have been going on for several weeks and are scheduled to continue until mid-June. Four of the defendants are currently in custody. The reports are alarming. The detectives are working intensively to dismantle the network using various legal, technical and organizational measures. The use of international cooperation could also be crucial here, as the current investigation results show.
Ultimately, this case makes it clear that combating such international fraud networks is of great importance and that the German authorities are making every effort to dismantle not only the perpetrators, but also the structures that have such a devastating impact on society.