They were already rich and wanted even more: That’s exactly why they fell into the trap of fraudster Jürgen Harksen. According to consistent media reports, Harksen died on Tuesday in Mallorca at the age of 63 – according to “Bild” from liver cirrhosis due to long-term alcohol abuse.
Harksen, who was born in Flensburg, was one of the most colorful figures on the so-called gray capital market in the late 80s and early 90s. Investors, blinded by the financial juggler’s luxurious lifestyle, fell for promises of returns of up to 1,300 percent. But Harksen’s victims were by no means just “gamblers”. In addition to professional footballers, celebrities from the music scene, doctors and pharmacists, leading business figures were also among the victims. The most prominent Harksen victim is pop millionaire Dieter Bohlen. He claims to have given “Mister Money” – as Harksen was known in relevant circles in the early 1990s – three million marks and never seen him again.
After fleeing to South Africa at the end of 1993, the businessman with a penchant for expensive cars and wild parties used tricks and legal maneuvers to evade German prosecution for years. In 2002, South Africa extradited him to Germany, where he was sentenced in April 2003 to six years and nine months in prison for fraud.
