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International Law Enforcement Actions Against Human Trafficking
From 8 to 15 May 2023, an international law enforcement action was undertaken to against human trafficking for sexual exploitation, forced begging, and forced criminal activities. This Operation Global Chain encompassed 44 countries, consisting of 25 EU member states and 19 non-EU countries coordinated by Europol, Frontex, and INTERPOL. Law enforcement agents arrested 212 individuals and identified 138 suspected traffickers identified.
Latest Updates
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
Payment Processors
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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
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Sentenced Start-Up Founder Elizabeth Holmes Began Her Prison Sentence!
On Tuesday, Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced entrepreneur convicted of defrauding investors in her failed blood-testing start-up, Theranos, began her 11-year, three-month prison sentence by reporting to a federal facility in Texas. The New York Times reports that she arrived at F.P.C. Bryan, a minimum-security prison camp for women near Houston, accompanied by what appeared to be her mother and her father inside the vehicle.
Regulatory Updates
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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.
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UK Regulator FCA Informed That Payment Institution Monneo Was Put Under Special Administration
On 30 May 2023, the UK Court made a special administration order concerning Monneo Ltd under the Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021. Daniel Conway, David Hudson, and Paul Allen of FRP Advisory have been appointed joint special administrators (JSAs). Monneo is an FCA-authorized payments institution and was founded in 2016. The Directors of the firm applied to court as they concluded that the firm was insolvent.
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U.S. SEC Investigates Withdrawals Before The Silicon Valley Bank Collapse!
According to a Bloomberg report, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating withdrawals made from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) before its collapse. The inquiry allegedly focuses on whether private equity firm executives withdrew funds from their personal accounts at the bank before their clients. The SEC has requested the necessary records, PYMNTS reports.
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European Funds Recovery Initiative (EFRI) is a non-government organization with the mission to support scam and cybercrime victims.
