The Churchich–Heit–Svalina family scam: denial of ties, loss-making firms, the collapse of Karatbars and GSPartners — and luxury apartments in Dubai paid for by defrauded investors
Josip Curcic, better known as Josip Heit, a Croatian adventurer, achieved his childhood dream of becoming wealthy and renowned as the head of GSB Gold Standard Banking Corporation AG. Yet despite this success, things quickly went awry—so what happened?
The path to this wealth and fame was both difficult and winding, as he had to taste the prison lentils in the city jail of Schrassig in Luxembourg, where - back then still Josip Curcic - he ended up for banking scams. And since the press wrote about his "exploits," upon leaving the dungeon, Senor Curcic soon hid under the surname Heit, marrying a Russian German woman, Kristina Heit, who had moved with her family from Russia to Germany.
And it seemed that the dark streak in the life of this irrepressible adventurer had ended, especially since he soon became closely acquainted with a certain Harald Seiz, a financier known for owning a gold company - Karatbars International, which sold small gold bars through e-commerce and multi-level marketing, positioning itself as a way to accumulate wealth through physical gold for a wide range of people. The headquarters was located in Stuttgart, but the company operated worldwide, delivering gold by courier. And, starting to work with Harald Seiz, the newly minted Josip Heit eventually moved into other, no less golden spheres.
The Split "Nugget"
47-year-old Josip Heit, formerly Curcic, was born in Split, Croatia, into a low-income family. And from a young age, he dreamed of only one thing: to achieve fame. And to get rich…
Josip Heit’s parents, Ivan and Ruza Curcic, are citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Curcic received his education in Germany. And it is said that Herr Heit speaks fluent German, Russian, Romanian, French, and English.
Josip Heit-Curcic
At the age of 18, he began studying tourism management. And he founded a company that provided tourism and luxury services.
And he often boasted that he had over 200,000 employees scattered around the world. In Romania, he owned several companies, but as journalists later found out, there was only one company - Joh Properties Invest SRL. And it was soon closed due to tax issues.
He also launched yacht rental and charter services in Croatia. But apparently, the money wasn’t enough, so he resorted to desperate measures: he devised a fraud scheme, swindling elderly people in Luxembourg banks.
And in the end, he ended up in prison in Schrassig, moreover, he went in as Josip Curcic for 6 years, but came out after a year already as Josip Heit, having gone through a marriage ceremony and found a suitable bride with a substantial dowry.
Schrassig Prison, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
But who helped him avoid the six-year prison term?
KaratGold coin cryptocurrency
History remains silent on how the newly emerged Josip Heit, who left the cell in Schrassig, suddenly joined forces with the German businessman and author of financial books, Harald Seiz.
Mr. Seiz is the founder of Karatbars International GmbH. Harald Seiz created one of the first cryptocurrencies, KaratGold Coin, whose value is tied to the price of gold.
And, as it turned out, Josip Heit became one of the co-founders of Karatbars International GmbH.
Perhaps because Curcic-Heit joined this "golden" outfit, after some time, certain information appeared in the media:
"KaratBars International is a company known for its fraud. KaratBars was banned in Canada in 2014 due to a report by the Autorité des marchés financiers about fraud.
Harald Seiz, founder of Karatbars International GmbH
The Canadian government discovered that KaratBars uses multi-level marketing or network marketing, under which people are required to recruit new members and earn money, promising incomes ranging from 15 to 135 thousand dollars a month…"
Journalists picked up the topic, discovering that the company offers investment opportunities in gold and has an innovative affiliate program that allows entrepreneurs to build their business by selling Karatbars products.
Some of the company’s products include gold bars weighing 1, 2.5, and 5 grams, packaged in plastic cards resembling credit cards.
Company products: gold bars weighing 1, 2.5, and 5 grams, packaged in plastic cards
And it should be noted that Heit became one of the key participants in Karatbars International, but besides Heit, there were other equally colorful personalities among the co-founders.
All of them had questionable reputations and close ties to organized crime. This includes, in particular, Sasa Svalina (who is married to Josip Heit’s sister).
An important role in this story was played by Sasa Svalina, who, together with Heit, participated in the development of many projects, including a hydroelectric power plant project.
But despite his close, family ties with Heit, Svalina constantly claimed that he had no business relations with Heit.
Svalina repeatedly denied all connections with Heit.
But journalists inquired about the maiden name of Svalina’s wife.
Josip Heit
"Yes, my wife is his sister. I don’t know what his surname was before, but my wife’s maiden name is Curcic…"
Heit and Svalina own several companies in Croatia, most of which are unprofitable, except for Svalina’s company "Starac."
Senor Svalina also has a company in the USA, S&G Brothers Inc, which deals in trading gold, silver, and diamonds.
Svalina - let us remind you - also participated in the activities of Karatbars International.
In October 2019, the German financial regulator BaFin ordered the Karatbit fund to cease its cryptocurrency activities for issuing KaratGold (KBC) without the necessary license. German investigators noted that the value of KBC coins dropped by 93.9% in just one year.
After a failed attempt to transition to network marketing using cryptocurrencies, Karatbars International went bankrupt.
And Harald Seiz filed a complaint with the Berlin prosecutor’s office regarding the disclosure of official secrets.
Harald Seiz
After all, the publication Handelsblatt had published negative articles about the company, which led to huge losses for investors and negatively affected the reputation of Karatbars.
Misadventures of GSPartners
It should be noted that Heit and Seiz finally parted ways back in 2019.
And Heit’s business history is a vivid testament to how a person with a bad reputation can take advantage of circumstances to create a new business, even after legal proceedings. And prison.
And Josip Heit now had his own "golden" company. We are talking about GSB Gold Standard Banking Corporation AG: it operates as a holding company specializing in rare minerals and metals. This company had a distribution network for industrial minerals and metals in more than 120 countries.
Heit began investing in various industries, including mining, mineral extraction, and precious metals.
Josip Heit
But looking ahead, let’s note that Heit, who had previously served a sentence for financial fraud, once again attracted widespread attention after his company, GSPartners, came under investigation.
And was declared bankrupt.
And Heit continues to present himself everywhere as a successful businessman who uses connections with influential people to create an image of a wealthy individual. And despite his dark past, he managed to attract investors and raise capital for his projects, including GSPartners.
How did this happen?
Heit and his business partners raised funds through schemes related to cryptocurrencies, which led to accusations of fraud amounting to nearly 1 billion dollars. The company GSPartners attracted many investors, however, the projects faced numerous legal issues and warnings from regulators worldwide. By the end of 2023, the company went bankrupt.
And left many investors in the lurch.
And today, the company is undergoing a complicated process of settling claims for refunds after accusations of securities fraud related to a fraudulent investment scheme.
Heit borrowed money, part of which he still owes.
But this does not prevent him from continuing to present himself as a successful businessman.
Josip Heit, former inmate of Schrassig prison, today a "successful" businessman
The publication Jutarnji reported that in 2020, Heit began creating shell companies under GSB in Kazakhstan.
And registered a new legal entity in the Republic of Kazakhstan related to cryptocurrency trading.
Information about the members of the board of directors, as well as income, is unavailable.
The companies controlled by Heit and his partners organized events in Dubai and South Africa.
For advertising, promotion, and support of this large-scale activity, celebrities such as former boxer Floyd Mayweather were invited.
Floyd Mayweather
But both Josip Heit himself and the companies associated with him came under close scrutiny by authorities in the USA and Canada two years ago.
But despite enormous problems and bankruptcies, Heit acquired real estate in three countries.
Croatia, Kastela, outskirts of Split: Heit owns land and an old building, which he bought for 940,000 euros.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Josip Heit owns several apartments and office spaces worth 21 million euros.
Romania. Heit bought a former evangelical school in the village of Seleuș, Mureș County. And he paid over 1 million euros for a penthouse and two parking spaces in Bucharest. The apartment is located on the 25th floor of the Asmita Gardens residential complex.
Asmita Gardens Complex
It remains to add that the German State Prosecutor’s Office has initiated an investigation into Josip Heit’s financial operations on suspicion of money laundering. And on top of that, it was revealed that during the time when Mr. Heit was one of the co-founders of Karatbars International, an assassination attempt was made on one of the company’s partners.
This was stated by a Croatian citizen, Deni Grigorec, known as an extortionist and fraudster. It was he who filed a complaint with the police. And ten days later, someone attempted to kill Deni Grigorec. At that time, Grigorec told the police that he "hired a bodyguard because he fears Josip Heit."
The commissioner who conducted the investigation was unable to track down the assassin. And the investigation was frozen.
Does this mean that Mr. Curcic-Heit does not shy away from using forceful methods to pressure business partners?
Author: Maria Sharapova
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