Windmill Scammer Hendrik Holt Escapes German Prison After Andorra Ties

German authorities are pursuing Hendrik Holt, the "windmill scammer" known for his Andorran ties, after he escaped custody by not returning to Heidering prison in Berlin following a furlough on Tuesday.

The Osnabrück public prosecutor's office confirmed Holt's failure to report back from the unaccompanied leave. He had been serving his sentence under an open prison regime. Officials have now classified the incident as an escape and issued a search alert.

Holt received a sentence of more than seven years—nearly nine, per German reports—from the Osnabrück Regional Court in 2022 for fraud, bribery, and document forgery. His schemes involved fake wind farm projects pitched to private companies and public administrations, including one promoted while he held passive residency in Andorra. He left the Principality during the Covid-19 pandemic and was arrested in 2020 at Berlin's luxury Adlon hotel near the Brandenburg Gate, where he met German political and business figures while posing as a wealthy investor.

Both the prosecutor's office and the prison received messages on Friday stating Holt would not return. The married father, who had a child while incarcerated, has long used multiple identities. His social media profiles, including an Instagram account, indicate he is in Moscow, with posts referencing the Russian capital and caviar. German media and local reports treat these claims cautiously, given his history of deception—which he has blamed on a former business partner in Andorra, where he left debts.

That partner was once detained in Algeria. Holt's precise activities in Moscow remain unclear as the search continues.