Front Page
My Featured Posts
Former CEO Of Collapsed Austrian Laundromat Meinl Bank Is To Be Extradited To The U.S.
A London court today granted the U.S. extradition request against the former CEO of the collapsed Austrian Meinl Bank, Peter Weinzierl. The decision is not final; Weinzierl will now appeal to the High Court. The U.S. accuses him, another ex-bank manager, and Julius Meinl V. of money laundering and bribery surrounding the Brazilian Odebrecht Group scandal. Meinl Bank has been notorious for the laundering of Russian money.
Latest Updates
A
Attention: Belgian Regulator Issues Fraud Warning Against 38 Unauthorized Brokers!
The Belgian regulator Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has identified 38 online trading platforms operating without the necessary licenses in the country. The list includes various forex, CFD, and crypto brokers. The FSMA points out that these unlicensed trading platforms employ deceptive tactics such as scam advertisements on social media. They lure unsuspecting individuals with promises of quick wealth and above-average returns.
B
Brazilian Crypto Exchange Mercado Bitcoin Receives Payment Institution License
Mercado Bitcoin (website), the largest crypto exchange in Brazil, has obtained a payment institution license from the country's central bank. This license allows the crypto exchange to operate as a payment institution and issue electronic money. The crypto exchange plans to offer its payment services through MB Pay. This will enable the exchange to provide Brazilian users with digital banking services using their held crypto assets.
D
Disappointed Whistleblowers Appeal Against The $279 Million SEC Whistleblower Case!
Two whistleblowers who provided tips to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Justice Department (DOJ) in a bribery case against Ericsson appealed the SEC's decision to reject their claims while awarding another informant a record-setting $279 million. One of the claimants is Liss-Olof Nenzell, a former Ericsson executive; the other remains anonymous to adhere to whistleblower protection rules.
P
Private Affairs: GDPR Fine Tracker Exposes The Poor Privacy Ethics Of Large Internet Companies!
The Irish Data Protection Authority (DPA) recently imposed a record fine of €1.2 billion on Facebook parent Meta Inc for unlawful data transfers to the US. In 2018, the GDPR became effective in the EEA countries. Since then, Private Affairs has tracked the penalties issued via its GDPR Fines Tracker & Statistics and publishes the relevant statistics on its website. They show that many companies are very careless with user data and have poor privacy ethics.
Payment Processors
E
Exposed! The Turkish Broker Scam Network Around CGS Apps, Airsoft, And Crypto-V2!
In recent months, we have noticed an increasing number of schemes on the scam radar operated or facilitated via Turkish companies. Torsa Teknoloji Bilişim Pazarlama ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti. d/b/a CGS Apps in Istanbul operated as an illegal payment processor for broker scams like the vanished ONOTEX. CGS Apps officially sells various products and services related to Forex and CFD trading. Here is our first report on this black-rated Turkish scheme.
W
What Happened With The Vanished Crypto Payment Processor Finanic?
Finanic, a payment processor in Estonia with a crypto license from the FIU, has been involved as a payment facilitator in numerous broker scams. Now Finanic OÜ, founded by Latvian Arturs Eglitis, has been deleted. Already in June 2022, the license was archived, and liquidation was announced. Finanic Ltd, which is registered in the UK, is still active. The website www.finanic.io also vanished. We would like to know more about the disappeared payment processor and their operators.
A
Attention! The Many Victims Of The CTMatador Broker Scam!
FinTelegram has already issued many warnings about the super-aggressive broker scam CTMatador. The last one was in November 2022. Standard payment options have been disabled for some time now. It seems that CTMatador is preparing to vanish, but victims continue to report their losses. Most recently, many victims may have made crypto deposits to CTMatador and lost them. The boiler rooms behind the scam are still active. If you have lost money, please get in touch with us!
A
Another Urgent Warning Against Offshore Brokers SpotInvest And BBanc!
FinTelegram has warned several times against the offshore broker scams SpotInvest and BBanc. However, they are still chasing victims. In the past, both scams were operated through Primis LLC, which is registered in St. Vincent & The Grenadines. Various financial market regulators and FinTelegram issue some warnings. Since then, the websites of SpotInvest and BBanc stated the fake companies SpotInvest Inc. and BBanc Inc., respectively, as the operators. Stay far away and do not lose money; protect your financial health.
Cybercrime Court Cases
U
U.S. Indictment Against Senegalese Investment Fraudster
An indictment charges the California businessman Amadou Kane Diallo, 44, for allegedly soliciting investments under false pretenses and using investors’ funds to support his lavish lifestyle. The Senegalese national was the CEO of the two California-based companies Virtual Advisors LLC and Liquide Inc. Diallo is charged with 19 wire fraud counts and two money laundering counts.
Regulatory Updates
I
Impressive: Revolut Acquired More Than 30 Million Customers!
Revolut, the London-based fintech unicorn, has exceeded 30 million customers globally, despite facing ongoing challenges with UK regulators while awaiting a decision on its banking license application. The growth rate is indeed impressive. In November 2022, Revolut announced it had achieved the 25 million milestone. Most of Revolut's user base (6.8 million) resides in the UK, followed by Romania and Poland, with 2.8 million and 2.5 million customers, respectively.
I
Interesting Reading: Who Controls China-Related Crypto Exchange Huobi?
The Hong Kong-based investment firm About Capital Management (ACM) announced in early October 2022 that it had acquired Huobi, a crypto exchange founded by Leon Li in China in 2013. The acquisition was orchestrated by Justin Sun, the founder of TRON and Poloniex. Sun assumed a position on the Huobi Global Advisory Board but said that he did not hold any controlling ownership of Huobi. In May 2023, ACM said it no longer controls Huobi; its current owners are still unknown!
U
U.S. FED Orders Collapsed Silvergate Bank To Wind Down
Silvergate Bank is currently under scrutiny by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board (FED) and the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation as it undergoes the process of winding down its business operations. In a collaborative enforcement action, the Fed and DFPI jointly issued a consent order last week, which mandates the La Jolla, California-based bank to present a self-liquidation plan to state and federal regulators within 10 days.
Support Scam Victims
Join the fight against cybercrime!
European Funds Recovery Initiative (EFRI) is a non-government organization with the mission to support scam and cybercrime victims.
