March 15, 2025

Athens News

News in English from Greece

An Islamic preacher from Germany deceived his followers out of hundreds of thousands of euros


33-year-old Dehran A., known on TikTok under the pseudonym Abdelhamid, got into a scandal. On the Internet, he positions himself as a preacher of Islam and collects donations, supposedly for pilgrims who are trying to get to Mecca.

However, investigators found out that Dehran A. led a luxurious life with the collected money. The Düsseldorf General Prosecutor's Office suspects him of fraud related to organized crime. During the arrest of Dehran A., investigators seized five Rolex watches, two thousand euros in cash and a Mercedes-AMG from his apartment.

The amount of funds collected by the preacher amounted to more than 350 thousand euros, however, according to preliminary information, only about five thousand euros were spent on charity. According to investigators, Dehran A. used the remaining funds for personal needs.

According to the prosecutor's office, Dehran A. has two citizenships – Germany and North Macedonia. He has 217 thousand followers on Instagram, where he has been raising money since 2021, allegedly to help starving Muslims during the pilgrimage to Mecca. According to investigators, Dehran A’s friend and sister was also involved in the fraudulent scheme.

The suspect was detained while he was trying to fly to Dubai. He is now in custody.



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