In April 2024, hundreds of police officers raided homes and offices in 11 countries and arrested several individuals linked to JuicyFields, a company initially based in Berlin.

JuicyFields had promised huge returns to those willing to invest in medical cannabis through its website. Almost 200.000 people did so and became victims of a scam. Prosecutors estimate the damage to be around €645 million ($678 million).

DW's Cannabis Cowboys podcast was early to investigate the scam and has received numerous awards since the final episode was published in March 2023.

A network of investigative journalists in several European countries has now further investigated the case. Their findings were published by Danish public broadcaster DR, Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladed, Austrian newspaper Der Standard, and in Germany by the magazine Der Spiegel, online publication Correctiv.org, and public TV station ZDF.

The new research appears to confirm the story as told by DW. It also adds new findings that make the JuicyFields saga even stranger than it already was.

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Journalist Kevin Shakir from DR, for example, managed to get in touch with the man suspected to be the mastermind behind JuicyFields. Sergej B., a Russian national, was arrested in April 2024 in the Dominican Republic and is set to be........

© Deutsche Welle