Convicted German fraudster Hendrik Holt flees open custody in Berlin and taunts authorities from Moscow
German authorities issued a European arrest warrant for convicted fraudster Hendrik Holt after he failed to return from an approved day release in Berlin and sent a farewell email to prison officials.
Disappearance from open custody
Convicted fraudster Hendrik Holt failed to return to a Berlin correctional facility on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, following an approved and unaccompanied day release. The 36-year-old native of Haselünne was serving a prison sentence of nearly nine years, handed down in 2022 by the Osnabrück Regional Court for commercial gang fraud, bribery, and document forgery. Holt had gained notoriety for selling non-existent wind farm projects to international energy corporations using falsified documentation. He had been held in open custody in southern Berlin since late October 2024, a regime that granted him regular daytime leaves while serving the remaining half of his sentence. Tuesday marked his 513th temporary release before he broke contact with the prison system.
One day after his disappearance, on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, an email arrived at the Berlin prison administration from an identifiable sender address. The message informed correctional staff that the inmate had fled and would not return to custody.
Hendrik Holt is not coming back.
European manhunt and Moscow posts
The Osnabrück public prosecutor's office announced that it had initiated formal escape proceedings and obtained a European arrest warrant. Investigators confirmed that international search measures are ongoing, though authorities have not officially verified his physical location.
- Osnabrück Regional Court sentences Hendrik Holt to nearly nine years in prison for commercial fraud
- Holt enters open custody at a southern Berlin correctional facility
- Holt fails to return from an approved day release in Berlin
- Berlin prison receives an email stating Holt will not return to custody
- Instagram account posts images and video claiming to be located in Moscow
- Osnabrück prosecutors confirm a European arrest warrant as the manhunt continues
On Thursday afternoon, 27 August 2026, a verified Instagram account under the username hendrikrichardholt, with over 60,000 followers, published temporary image and video stories indicating his presence in Moscow. The posted image depicted a city street at night with a caption sending greetings from Moscow and praising the caviar. Geolocation comparisons of the video footage against Russian mapping services placed the scene in the Basmanny district of northeastern Moscow, matching architecture and a 2025 opera poster visible on an adjacent building. Prosecutors acknowledged awareness of the Instagram material but declined to assess its validity while operational search efforts continue.
Rostock airport connections dismissed
Following speculation regarding Holt's past business contacts in northern Germany, the operator of Rostock-Laage Airport rejected claims that the fugitive left the country from its runway. Crisp Partners, which acquired the civilian operations of the airport in 2025, stated that all departures, including private and charter flights, require advance passenger registration with federal aviation and law enforcement bodies. Karsten Lauth, project manager and spokesperson for Crisp Partners, stated that airport security matches standards at major hubs such as Berlin Brandenburg Airport.
If Hendrik Holt had wanted to fly abroad from here, customs, air traffic control and federal police would have noticed.
Lauth noted that Holt originally introduced the parties for the 2025 airport transaction and proposed developing energy infrastructure on the grounds, but maintained that Holt holds no ownership stake in the airport or the operating company. Osnabrück prosecutors confirmed that a separate criminal complaint concerning Holt and the Rostock airport acquisition remains on file.
