| Name | The Hungarian Circle |
|---|---|
| Leader | Henry Oberlander |
| Active | c. 1974
–1976 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom (Paddington) |
| Modus Operandi | Forged bankers' drafts |
| Estimated Stolen | Up to $240 million (potentially $320 million) |
| Notable Members | Francisco Fiocca, Emile Fleischmann, Andre Biro, Jorge Grunfeld, Carl Albert, Louis Tufnell |
The Hungarian Circle was a sophisticated international criminal organization responsible for what Scotland Yard dubbed "the greatest banking fraud in history" in the mid-1970s. Led by Henry Oberlander, a Czech national operating from London, the group specialized in forging bankers' drafts.
The Circle exploited a fundamental vulnerability in the global banking system, producing high-quality counterfeit drafts and associated documentation. Their strategy involved cashing relatively small amounts of money across banks in numerous countries, ensuring that the fraud was often not detected until weeks after the money had been taken and the perpetrators had departed.
Operating with impunity for two years, the gang defrauded banks in at least 35 countries of an estimated $240 million to $320 million. The scheme was eventually uncovered through police surveillance of an associate, leading to extensive raids in London in 1976 and the arrest of 31 individuals. The subsequent trial at the Old Bailey was one of the most expensive in British legal history. Oberlander was sentenced to 14 years but served only three, and despite the scale of the fraud, almost none of the stolen money was recovered. The Hungarian Circle's methods and impact continue to serve as a significant case study in financial crime and systemic vulnerabilities.