“Your hopes, losses and promises? It’s your own fault – Freidl’s bizarre defence before the public prosecutor

‘With his supplementary statement, Hubert Freidl has achieved something that must seem like pure mockery to many of those affected: he has simply turned the tables. Investments have become discount vouchers, promises of passive income have become alleged misunderstandings, and thousands of people affected have suddenly become people who simply had “false expectations”,’ says our CEO Ben Ecker

The 25-page supplementary statement submitted by Hubert Freidl in mid-July 2025 reads not only like a legal defence, but also like a resounding slap in the face for many victims.

Instead of taking responsibility, Freidl summarily declares the clouds to be mere ‘free extras’ and the Limited Edition Discount Vouchers (LEDV) to be a risk-free discount instrument. Anyone who spoke of an investment, returns or passive income was misled; the responsibility lies with unofficial marketers or ‘misconceptions’ on the part of those affected.

For those who have concrete advertising materials, presentations and even video recordings in their hands, this argument seems like pure mockery. People who were attracted by promises such as ‘at least 300 euros per month per cloud’ or ‘up to 16,000 euros passive income’ are now reading that such promises were never officially made. Even if Freidl personally used similar terms at events or in seminars, he now claims that there is ‘no evidence’ of this. We have a large number of corresponding statements in their full context, such as the following:

For those affected, this line of defence means nothing other than that their experiences, their documents and their losses are now being dismissed as figments of their imagination. According to Freidl, those who invested did not suffer any losses, but received discount vouchers, an argument that turns the reality of thousands of marketers on its head.

The statement thus gives the impression less of a sober legal clarification than of a cynical distortion: Those who made payments for years are not recognised as victims, but dismissed as misguided consumers. For many, this statement is likely to come across as mockery, as if the former founder is trying to convince them in hindsight that they were victims of their own illusions.

This supplementary statement is not just legal hair-splitting; it is Hubert Freidl’s brutal message to his own people: You never invested, you bought. Your hopes, promises and losses? It’s your own fault.

In a further article, we will examine the individual points of these cynical distortions in detail and substantiate them on the basis of the statement available.

Note: This article is intended solely for information, journalistic analysis and independent opinion-forming within the meaning of Article 5 of the German Basic Law and Section 51 of the German Copyright Act (UrhG) (right to quote). All information is based on publicly available sources, official communications and careful editorial research. Despite the utmost care, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information contained herein.

Sources

[1] Supplementary statement by Hubert Freidl, represented by Brandl Talos Rechtsanwältinnen GmbH, submitted on 11 July 2025 in preliminary investigation 33 St 2/23m at the WKStA.

[2] Preliminary investigation WKStA 33 St 2/23m, suspicion under Sections 146 et seq. of the German Criminal Code (StGB), as of July 2025.

[3] Marketing documents and presentations from the Lyconet/myWorld environment (2016–2022), own review: PowerPoint presentations, WhatsApp chats, seminar recordings, video material.

[4] Company documents of myWorld International AG and Lyconet Europe AG (2018–2024), including on Enterprise Clouds, mSP programmes and the Share Programme.

[5] Civil proceedings against Lyoness Europe AG (2016–2019), judgments of Austrian courts on consumer status and contract drafting.

[6] Interviews and statements from affected marketers (2022–2025), own documentation.