Police in Austria have issued a European arrest warrant for a woman who believes to be represented as shaman to deceive victims of large sums of money.
Police have said they have found money, jewelry and gold worth over € 10 million (8.3 million pounds) at a woman's house in Medoling, near Vienna.
They said the suspect was a 44-year-old Austrian citizen, named only as Mariana M, who went to the name Amela.
Her 29-year-old son has been arrested and arrested in the city of Wiener Nostad.
Police say they believe Mariana M may have deceived the people in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Police say Mariana M has told a victim that “a close relative has been cursed and that she has foreseen her death. In order to violate this alleged curse, the accused has requested 730,000 euros for “cleansing rituals”.
They said that after the victim had handed over the money to the accused in several contributions, the suspected interrupted contact. Another woman then informed the victim by phone that the “shaman” had fallen into a severe coma as a result of the ritual.
Director of Police in Lower Austria Franz Pop said: “In a world where many people seek answers to the basic questions of life, profits have established themselves, who claim to have supernatural powers.”
“They exploit the confidence of their victims, who are in emotional or financial suffering and seek help and support,” he added.
Police appealed to other casualties to contact the Austrian Civil Service for a criminal investigation.