Front Page
My Featured Posts
Vienna Cybercrime Trials – The Political Implications of this landmark Court Case for the EU
The Vienna Cybercrime Trials against Gal Barak, the alleged Israeli principal of the cybercrime organization around E&G Bulgaria have a political dimension in several respects. Let us start with the light political dimension on Facebook. There we could not promote the last post about the Vienna Cybercrime Trials, because the article mentioned Barak’s many political contacts. Therefore, Facebook classified the article as political election advertising and rejected the application. That’s the more funny side of this case.
Latest Updates
F
Fight Cybercrime – Open EFRI Letter to FATF on the German problem
Currently, the Wirecard tsunami sweeps over Germany and destroys the reputation of the capital market and its institutions. The responsible authorities, auditors, and politicans are sort of playing the "Trip to Jerusalem" or "Musical chair" and deny any guilt in causing this drama. The frightening truth is that Germany has a systemic problem with cybercrime and money laundering. The consequence of this truth is that Germany must review the state of its authorities and its approach to cybercrime. And FATF should have a very close watch!
C
Crypto Manipulation: Chinese authorities arrested 27 individuals involved in huge PlusToken crypto scheme
The gigantic Chinese PlusToken crypto scheme has kept the crypto markets massively busy in the last two years. PlusToken with $5.7B raised from some 800,000 members is said to have been a driving force behind manipulations in the crypto markets. In a Chinese law enforcement action, 27 key individuals involved in the PlusToken crypto scheme have been arrested. Several Chinese news outlets reported that another 82 members of the scheme have been arrested.
V
Vienna Cybercrime Trials – First Witness Day and Witness Bribery
Today the third day of the Vienna Cybercrime Trials against the Israeli Gal Barak took place in Vienna. The prosecutors charge Barak of being the principal of the cybercrime organization E&G Bulgaria which operated a worldwide scam broker and money-laundering network with big fraud brands like XTraderFX, SafeMarkets, Golden Markets, CryptoPoint or OptionStars. The verdict is expected in early September 2020. Until then, several more days of hearings will take place. Today, many witnesses have been heard. In parallel, a friend of Baraks' tried to bribe a potential witness to testify in his favor.
F
Former Wirecard Head of Business Development now runs FCA-regulated Moorwand
The parallels between the German Wirecard and its UK Mini-Me Moorwand are remarkable. Both companies do and did their business primarily in high-risk segments such as porn, gambling, or online trading. They have accomplished quite a reputation for their laissez-faire KYM/AML/CTF approach. In March 2020, Wirecard's former Head of Business Development Luc Gueriane was appointed Chief Commercial Officer of Moorwand.
Payment Processors
G
Gooood Morning BaFin – it’s time to start protecting, supervising, and cybercrime fighting!
It's stunning. Before the eyes of the world public, the scandal of the DAX listed Wirecard unfolded over years while the BaFin did nothing but file complaints against investigative journalists and traders. BaFin has the legal mandate to protect the capital market and investors. Despite numerous warnings and circumstantial evidence, it has not fulfilled this mandate. BaFin must be accused of gross negligence and embezzlement.
V
Vienna Cybercrime Trials – Defendant Barak confirms involvement of his wife and Payvision role
The second day of the Vienna Cybercrime Trials against Gal Barak, the alleged Israeli principal of an international cybercrime organization and operator of numerous broker scams, brought remarkable findings. The prosecutors confronted Barak with payment transactions of the various companies of Barak's cybercrime organization. At the center of these transactions was the notorious GPay Ltd. And, oh yes! Barak was not the boss, he said. He just liked the offices in Sofia.
C
CySEC regulated Maxigrid accused of fraud; silently closes down BitandBuy crypto service
It's about the RoyalsFX broker scam. One of the scam's damaged investors involved FinTelegram and started an email communication with FinTelegram on cc. The desperate investor started to claim his money back and provided all sorts of evidence and supporting documentation. This scam involved the crypto platform BitandBuy, a brand and platform of CySEC-regulated Maxigrid Ltd. This crypto venture disappeared amidst the victims fraud allegations.
W
Wirecard was run by a criminal organization – what about Payvision and ING?
Surprise, Surprise! The Wirecard madhouse was run by a criminal organization, says the German public prosecutor on July 23, 2020. he public prosecutor's office has allegedly been able to confirm and support these statements with facts. Consequently, the former managers Markus Braun, Burkhard Ley, and the former head of accounting were arrested. The former COO, the Austrian Jan Marsalek remains on the run. But Wirecard is not the only payment processor with close connection to cybercrime and money-laundering.
Cybercrime Court Cases
U
U.S. Regulator and prosecutors charge Silicon Valley Start-Up and CEO with defrauding investors
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California charged the founder and CEO of California-based start-up YouPlus with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about the company’s finances and sources of revenue.
Regulatory Updates
N
Notorious Moorwand provides agent license to Seedcamp payment startup Telleroo
There's Wirecard. The scandal surrounding the once highly celebrated German FinTech start-up is well known. The company turned into the gravedigger for the reputation of the German regulator BaFin. While Wirecard is for sure a class on its own but then there is also the FCA-regulated Moorwand. This UK e-Money Institution that has been involved in scams, cybercrime, and money laundering with various brands and partners for years. Strange though that the payment startup Telleroo operates with the Moorwand license.
S
Spanish Watchdog CNMV warns against Maxizoption, EXM Solution, and Bitsends
Spanish regulator CNMV issued investor warnings against several broker scams. Among them are the Maxizoption, EXM Solution, and Bitsends. Non of these brokers is registered in any regulatory regime on this planet. These scams are merely slightly different copycats (mutations) of existing scam templates. The scammers currently run massive-scale operations with many scam sites under various domains with the goal of catching and cheating as many small investors as possible.
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.
