ZENIQ/Safir in the sights of the judiciary – First proceedings dropped, but the reckoning is only just beginning!

An appeal to those affected: Your voice counts

In the first case involving the blockchain company ZENIQ Technologies and its sales arm Safir International, Austrian authorities have been investigating allegations of embezzlement, fraud and forgery for years. Now, a key investigation against Dr Michael Ofner, former Chief Operating Officer (COO) of ZENIQ, has been dropped – and for several understandable reasons.

Proceedings discontinued – and that’s a good thing?

The proceedings against Dr Ofner, which lasted more than two years (from December 2022 to March 2025), were discontinued on 10 March 2025 in accordance with § 190 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO). The public prosecutor’s reasoning: there is insufficient suspicion of wrongdoing, in particular because, under the current legal situation, only immediate financial losses at the time of payment are considered fraud under criminal law. Promised but unrealised profits are considered merely indirect damages and are therefore not legally actionable.

The allegedly falsified documents submitted to substantiate the suspicions against Ofner were also recognised as such, but had no further relevance under criminal law.

We have already described in detail in a previous article how Ofner was ignored by his former business partners and deliberately pushed out of the company.

Discontinuation does not mean an acquittal for the system – a new approach is needed!

The dismissal of the proceedings must not be misunderstood as an acquittal of the entire system surrounding ZENIQ/Safir, especially since, according to the information available to us, the system originally conceived by former business partners was transformed into a suspected Ponzi scheme.

Rather, the case shows how gaps in criminal law when dealing with modern financial promises. Anyone who makes unrealistic promises of returns in connection with new technologies such as blockchain or crypto-assets is sometimes operating in a legal grey area as long as the damage cannot be immediately and specifically proven.

This was the case with an investor who purchased a ‘ZENIQ Hub’ in 2021 for 1,998 euros, trusting in promised profits and positive company development. When these failed to materialise, the buyer turned to the public prosecutor’s office – but hopes of criminal proceedings were not fulfilled.

On the offensive in civil law – new lawsuits planned

BE Conflict Management Inc. is currently working with specialised lawyers on a new strategy: civil lawsuits that bundle victims and target key players in the Safir/ZENIQ system. The aim is to represent the rights of those affected in parallel with criminal proceedings in civil proceedings.

Call to victims – your voice counts

If you are affected – for example, if you purchased a ‘ZENIQ Hub’ or made investments based on statements from SAFIR/ZENIQ – please come forward.

Every experience, every document can help to complete the overall picture and initiate new legal action.

Your information will, of course, be treated confidentially.

Conclusion:

the legal process surrounding the ZENIQ/Safir case is only just beginning. Even though the first proceedings have been discontinued, the need for justice and clarification remains.

What is needed now is fresh impetus – in the form of well-founded information, clear legal strategies and, above all, the voices of those affected.

Note: victims, insiders or people with further information are cordially invited to come forward. We do not seek to prejudge, our goal is a documentary-based reappraisal and the greatest possible transparency.