Berliner Boersenzeitung - Alleged German Hells Angels boss goes on trial in Spain

EUR -
AED 3.888366
AFN 72.007736
ALL 98.044838
AMD 410.170574
ANG 1.901073
AOA 967.064771
ARS 1060.501272
AUD 1.623064
AWG 1.899709
AZN 1.799366
BAM 1.953279
BBD 2.129871
BDT 126.057292
BGN 1.952224
BHD 0.398909
BIF 3115.508099
BMD 1.058644
BND 1.413089
BOB 7.315557
BRL 6.111442
BSD 1.054853
BTN 89.081019
BWP 14.351679
BYN 3.452077
BYR 20749.413776
BZD 2.126276
CAD 1.477893
CDF 3038.306822
CHF 0.935492
CLF 0.037265
CLP 1028.250492
CNY 7.665958
CNH 7.668062
COP 4649.975387
CRC 536.21295
CUC 1.058644
CUP 28.054054
CVE 110.122859
CZK 25.290778
DJF 187.839321
DKK 7.46006
DOP 63.528601
DZD 141.060489
EGP 52.416091
ERN 15.879653
ETB 129.830375
FJD 2.398994
FKP 0.835605
GBP 0.834698
GEL 2.906005
GGP 0.835605
GHS 16.803311
GIP 0.835605
GMD 74.638017
GNF 9091.351252
GTQ 8.143489
GYD 220.58528
HKD 8.239132
HNL 26.653101
HRK 7.551579
HTG 138.572447
HUF 408.38209
IDR 16798.661875
ILS 3.961799
IMP 0.835605
INR 89.326542
IQD 1381.816426
IRR 44574.187371
ISK 145.478712
JEP 0.835605
JMD 167.30721
JOD 0.750892
JPY 164.392513
KES 136.756692
KGS 91.570837
KHR 4284.510257
KMF 492.03104
KPW 952.778803
KRW 1472.562789
KWD 0.325491
KYD 0.879065
KZT 523.434379
LAK 23128.365625
LBP 94461.666267
LKR 306.90676
LRD 191.984916
LSL 19.069364
LTL 3.1259
LVL 0.640363
LYD 5.145407
MAD 10.539296
MDL 19.171436
MGA 4930.705575
MKD 61.505577
MMK 3438.432988
MNT 3597.27076
MOP 8.456685
MRU 41.982208
MUR 49.00302
MVR 16.355939
MWK 1829.16493
MXN 21.311908
MYR 4.732364
MZN 67.710251
NAD 19.071883
NGN 1773.0268
NIO 38.82026
NOK 11.63931
NPR 142.531375
NZD 1.793263
OMR 0.407598
PAB 1.054838
PEN 4.003133
PGK 4.244561
PHP 62.354952
PKR 293.143779
PLN 4.334194
PYG 8215.473514
QAR 3.847034
RON 4.976048
RSD 116.96761
RUB 105.599193
RWF 1450.954598
SAR 3.974354
SBD 8.860338
SCR 14.906727
SDG 636.775466
SEK 11.569524
SGD 1.417783
SHP 0.835605
SLE 23.923391
SLL 22199.231145
SOS 602.833284
SRD 37.622602
STD 21911.784299
SVC 9.230086
SYP 2659.873554
SZL 19.06666
THB 36.597095
TJS 11.212927
TMT 3.715839
TND 3.32371
TOP 2.479452
TRY 36.568349
TTD 7.162755
TWD 34.39586
TZS 2803.250008
UAH 43.549805
UGX 3883.986759
USD 1.058644
UYU 45.281553
UZS 13528.538093
VES 48.468632
VND 26905.426078
VUV 125.684291
WST 2.9553
XAF 655.120688
XAG 0.034088
XAU 0.000402
XCD 2.861037
XDR 0.802376
XOF 655.120688
XPF 119.331742
YER 264.549116
ZAR 19.145913
ZMK 9529.097509
ZMW 29.140662
ZWL 340.882794
  • RBGPF

    59.6500

    59.65

    +100%

  • CMSD

    -0.0460

    24.344

    -0.19%

  • RIO

    0.3100

    62.43

    +0.5%

  • NGG

    0.6800

    63.58

    +1.07%

  • JRI

    0.0300

    13.26

    +0.23%

  • SCS

    -0.1100

    13.09

    -0.84%

  • BCC

    -3.3600

    138.18

    -2.43%

  • CMSC

    -0.0590

    24.565

    -0.24%

  • BCE

    0.0800

    27.31

    +0.29%

  • GSK

    -0.2300

    33.46

    -0.69%

  • RELX

    0.2500

    45.29

    +0.55%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0700

    6.62

    -1.06%

  • AZN

    0.4100

    63.8

    +0.64%

  • VOD

    0.0000

    8.92

    0%

  • BTI

    0.2500

    36.93

    +0.68%

  • BP

    -0.3300

    29.09

    -1.13%

Alleged German Hells Angels boss goes on trial in Spain
Alleged German Hells Angels boss goes on trial in Spain / Photo: Pierre-Philippe Marcou - AFP

Alleged German Hells Angels boss goes on trial in Spain

A German went on trial in Spain on Monday for allegedly running a chapter of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang on the holiday island of Mallorca that was involved in prostitution, drug trafficking and other organised crime.

Text size:

Frank Hanebuth, suspected of being of a top European member of the US-based biker group, is in the dock alongside 46 other suspected members and collaborators.

Wearing blue jeans and a black coat, he sat with his hands in his lap at the court in San Fernando de Henares, near Madrid, as the judge read the charges.

Spanish prosecutors accuse Hanebuth of founding the Hells Angel chapter in Mallorca and then appointing its members, who are suspected of crimes including pimping, extortion, drug trafficking and acquiring illegal firearms.

According to the prosecutor's indictment, prostitution was one of the chapter's "main sources of income", with women "coerced" into working at brothels owned by the gang.

"Those women were the property of the organisation and had to comply with its rules or face various sorts of sanctions," the indictment said.

The gang allegedly paid for some of them to undergo cosmetic surgery "for the sole purpose of making women 'more productive' and obtaining a bigger profit," it added.

Spanish prosecutors are seeking a 13-year prison sentence for Hanebuth on charges of membership in a criminal organisation, money laundering, making threats and illegal possession of arms, as well as a fine of 4.2 million euros ($4.6 million).

Other suspected members of the gang are charged with drug trafficking and running a prostitution ring, and face up to 38 years.

- 'Threatening and coercing' -

The gang is believed to have operated in Mallorca between 2009 and 2013, when Hanebuth was arrested in Spain along with 24 other suspects in a series of raids.

It was made up of people from across Europe, mainly Germany.

Among the other defendants is Joachim Kirschner, whom prosecutors described as the chapter's "sergeant-at-arms".

His duties allegedly included "threatening and coercing people to defend the business of the organisation and its members," according to the prosecutor's indictment.

They are seeking a five-year prison term for Kirschner.

Another defendant, Paul Engelke, co-owned with Hanebuth a large estate in Mallorca called "Son Paraiso" that is valued at 2.5 million euros.

During a police search of the property, officers seized a sawed-off shotgun and four rifles. Engelke is facing a 14-year prison term.

Prosecutors suspect the gang laundered its illegal profits by buying real estate in Mallorca and the nearby island of Ibiza.

Three Spanish police officers are also on trial for allegedly co-operating with the gang.

- Former boxer -

Hanebuth was released on bail in July 2015 along with his alleged number two, Khalil Youssafi, who also went on trial on Monday. He is facing a 38-year jail term.

A towering former boxer, Hanebuth was the head of a Hells Angels chapter in the German city of Hanover for several years before relocating to Mallorca.

The first day of proceedings began after a three-hour delay as lawyers for some of the defendants and prosecutors tried to reach a last-minute plea bargain. The trial is expected to last several weeks.

The Hells Angels club was founded in California in 1948. It now has members around the world who are known for favouring Harley-Davidson motorcycles and wearing denim and leather.

(H.Schneide--BBZ)