“I had so many customers, I didn’t even have enough time to eat in between,” said Zana. The young Russian woman worked as a prostitute in the capital’s Gare district, near the central train station, for several weeks after arriving in Luxembourg from Spain in 2020. She said she earned €20,000 in just three weeks, but was only allowed to keep half of it.
The other half is presumed to have ended up in the pockets of Oleh P. and Alina F. According to a criminal indictment, they allegedly set up and operated a prostitution network with up to 150 women in Luxembourg between July 2020 and March 2022. They are also accused of human trafficking, assault and theft.
The trial of the couple – who contest the charges – started at the capital’s district court on Monday.
The trial has already had to be adjourned once. Alina F. did not appear in court this week either, because, according to her own statements, she is in hospital. However, this time the judges decided to continue proceedings.
Women all from Eastern Europe
Oleh P. and Alina F., whose full names cannot be published under Luxembourg law, are said to have lured up to 150 women – mainly from Russia and Ukraine – to the Grand Duchy.
Among them was Angelina, who is one of three women testifying in court this week. When she was asked by an acquaintance in Russia whether she wanted to work in Luxembourg, she agreed. She was a dancer and had never worked as a prostitute before. “It was a spontaneous decision,” she said. “I don’t see myself as a victim, I knew what I was getting myself into.”
She was given the telephone number of a woman who apparently was Alina F., who then organised the trip: first by plane from Russia to Croatia, then by bus to Luxembourg.
After her arrival in the Grand Duchy, Angelina lived in Avenue de la Liberté. According to Luxemburger Wort research, she stayed in a furnished apartment in a block of flats that can be booked online and was primarily aimed at tourists.
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For Angelina – as well as for the other two women testifying in court – the flats in Avenue de la Liberté and other streets in the Gare district become their workplace. Services and prices were fixed: half an hour cost €150 and a full hour €250.
Oleh P. and Alina F. are said to have taken care of finding clients, primarily via an online portal. They are alledged to have used WhatsApp to let the women know when the next customer was coming, with several arriving each day. “Once I asked if I could take a day off. But they didn’t respond to my message,” said Angelina. Instead, she had to keep working.
Incident in the Avenue de la Gare
The police reportedly first became aware of the network on 8 June 2021, after officers were called to an incident on Avenue de la Gare. In a video played in court on Tuesday by the lead investigator, a woman can be heard screaming for help from the seventh floor of a block of flats.
When the officers arrived at the flat late in the evening, there was no trace of the perpetrators of an alleged attack on the woman, who had a Russian passport and a Spanish residence permit and who was working as a prostitute in Luxembourg at the time. According to what she told police, she was attacked by two people from the agency she was working for, said to be Alina F. and Oleh P.
The argument had begun a little earlier in the evening via WhatsApp, when the woman needed a day off, saying she doesn’t feel well and doesn’t want to receive clients.
However, her employer Alina F. wanted her to continue working – stating that according to their contract, the women are supposed to work until 01:00, and exceptions to this rule are not tolerated.
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According to the woman, Alina F. and her suspected accomplice Oleh P. appeared unannounced at the door of the flat. There was apparently a fight in which Oleh P. is said to have attacked the young woman in bed.
She tried to defend herself and bite the attacker’s hand, later running onto the balcony from where she called for help. This is the scene that can be seen and heard in the video.
The woman was not alone – but part of a large-scale network that is alleged to have been managed by Alina F. and Oleh P. in Luxembourg. The procedure is said to always be the same: the two defendants usually rent flats in the Gare district via platforms such as Airbnb – 56 of which are currently being investigated by the police.
Eastern European women are assigned to the flats and receive their clients there. However, the women rarely stay longer than ten days. “On the one hand, the pimps have realised that this constant change makes it difficult for investigations,” said the investigator. “On the other hand, it’s almost physically impossible for the women to endure this for longer than ten days – with eight customers a day.”
107 SIM cards found
Alina F. was already known to the authorities. Years ago, she was found by the police in a hotel in the Netherlands – back then as a prostitute herself. “It’s not unusual to start out as a prostitute and then work your way up to become a pimp. It’s a classic modus operandi,” explained the investigator.
Using IP addresses, the police were able to track down Alina F. and Oleh P. to a flat in Bonnevoie. The two were finally arrested in March 2022. During the house search, eleven smartphones, 107 SIM cards and a knuckleduster were confiscated. They are said to have used the mobile phones to manage the prostitution ring and maintain contact with customers.
When questioned by the police, Alina F. initially admitted to having organised the network, but later described herself as a victim of Oleh P. He initially denied everything, but then admitted his responsibility to the investigating magistrate.
The trial continues on Wednesday, and the presumption of innocence applies until a final conviction is handed down.
(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using an AI, with editing and adaptation by Aaron Grunwald)
