MoneynetInt, a UK-licensed e-Money Institution with roots deep in Israel’s high-risk payment sector, continues to draw scrutiny years after the binary options ban. Once a major facilitator in the fraudulent binary options industry, MoneynetInt‘s financials, connections, and questionable reputation-cleaning efforts warrant renewed attention. Despite a temporary freeze on customer onboarding and alarming financial results in 2023, the company remains active across jurisdictions and connected to a complex web of affiliated entities and family-controlled firms.
Key Points
- Major Facilitator of Binary Options Fraud: MoneynetInt reportedly played a central role in the global binary options fraud industry, which originated in Israel and defrauded hundreds of thousands before being banned in 2017.
- Links to Financial Cybercrime: Between 2017 and 2019, FinTelegram received extensive whistleblower evidence confirming MoneynetInt’s role in laundering funds for scam brokers.
- Complex Corporate Network: Operates across the UK, U.S., Hong Kong, and Israel under different licenses, with significant intercompany debts and familial entanglements.
- Affiliation with Globalnetint (Payswix): Despite formal denials, financial documents link MoneynetInt to another notorious payment facilitator, Globalnetint.
- Alarming Financial Decline: In 2023, MoneynetInt suffered a GBP 1.5 million loss, burned through cash reserves, and saw equity drop by nearly 50%.
- Manipulated Reputation? Its stellar 4.9-star Trustpilot rating is highly suspect, suggesting artificial boosting through review manipulation techniques.
The Moneynetint Narrative
The MoneynetInt Group, led by Israeli national Yishay Trif, is no ordinary fintech. Its history is intertwined with one of the largest global financial fraud schemes of the last decade—the Israeli-born binary options scam, which thrived until regulatory bans were imposed in 2017. As FinTelegram has repeatedly documented, MoneynetInt was a key payment facilitator for fraudulent brokers that fleeced retail investors globally.
For example, the criminal files against the now convicted Israeli cybercrime mastermind Gal Barak show that his scams laundered the money via Moneynetint. The same applies to Barak’s partner in crime, Uwe Lenhoff, who died in prison in 2020. The image on the left shows the screenshot from a forensic analysis from the criminal file against Barak and Lenhoff, which also prominently features Moneynetint.
Numerous financial regulators have issued countless warnings against Moneynetint’s scam customers. The Polish supervisory authority KNF has issued a warning against the payment processor itself (image left). The list of Moneynetint’s scam-facilitating activities could go on for pages. It is therefore surprising that the FCA has not taken more drastic measures.
After binary options were outlawed, scammers transitioned to Contracts for Difference (CFDs), often just as fraudulent, and MoneynetInt adapted accordingly. Whistleblower documents received by FinTelegram between 2017 and 2019 paint a damning picture: MoneynetInt enabled, processed, and even laundered millions on behalf of criminal enterprises posing as brokers.
Read our Moneynetint Reports here.
MoneynetInt’s corporate structure spans four continents, with regulated entities in the UK, U.S., Hong Kong, and Israel. Its UK arm is supervised by the FCA (Ref No. 900190). However, its operations are far from transparent.
The Financial Situation in 2023
The 2023 financial statements reveal a company under duress:
- A loss of GBP 1.5 million.
- Revenue down nearly 14%.
- A sharp decline in cash reserves from GBP 26.6M to GBP 12.3M.
- Negative operating cash flow.
- Equity almost halved.
More revealing are the millions owed to affiliated companies, many of which are linked to Trif and other directors:
- Ibn Gvirol Ltd: GBP 11.2 million
- Nergate Holdings S.A.: GBP 2.6 million
- 724 Holloway Road Ltd: GBP 2.5 million
- Golan Holdings Ltd: Significant creditor
These liabilities, primarily owed to family-linked or closely affiliated companies, underscore the “family office” nature of MoneynetInt. The UK-registered companies often trace back to a single London address: 724 Holloway Road, a shared office space used as the corporate hub of Trif and co-director Raphael Yehudah Golan.
Moreover, Globalnetint UAB (now Payswix)—another high-risk EMI known for facilitating scam brokers—appears in MoneynetInt’s financial records as a related entity, despite prior public denials of affiliation. FinTelegram’s ongoing investigations suggest the Lithuanian EMI may be under indirect control of individuals related to MoneynetInt directors.
The Trustpilot Analysis
Meanwhile, MoneynetInt’s stellar Trustpilot score of 4.9 stars and a corresponding Excellent trust level is sharply at odds with its reputation in compliance and law enforcement circles. AI-based pattern analysis indicates likely review manipulation, with a surge of generic 5-star reviews, likely from Israel-based accounts, potentially aimed at reputation laundering.
MoneynetInt’s sudden withdrawal from onboarding new clients in 2021 (a “voluntary pause”) remains suspicious and likely tied to regulatory pressure or internal investigations. Although that freeze was reportedly lifted in 2024, its impact continues to shape the company’s fragile financial state.
Key Entities and Individuals (2023)
| Name / Entity | Role / Description | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Yishay Trif | CEO, Ultimate Controlling Person | Founder and controlling force behind MoneynetInt; linked to affiliated entities |
| Raphael Yehudah Golan | Director | Linked to Golan Holdings Ltd and 724 Holloway Road Ltd |
| Leon David Isaacs | Director | Official role unclear, possibly nominal for regulatory optics |
| Moneynetint Ltd (UK) | FCA-licensed EMI | Main operating company under FCA Reference No. 900190 (www.moneyneting.com) |
| M-Net International Inc (US) | Money Transmitter | Holds licenses in Florida and South Carolina |
| Moneynetint Ltd (HK) | MSO in Hong Kong | Overseen by HK Customs and Excise Dept. |
| Moneynet Y.M LTD (Israel) | Licensed by Capital Market Authority | Core Israeli entity behind global operations and operator of the Israeli business (www.moneynet.co.il) |
| Globalnetint UAB / Payswix | Lithuanian EMI | Affiliated via financial entanglements and family ties |
| Ibn Gvirol Ltd | Creditor and related party | GBP 11.2M owed, linked to Trif |
| Nergate Holdings S.A. | Creditor and related party | GBP 2.6M owed |
| 724 Holloway Road Ltd | Creditor and related party | GBP 2.5M owed; linked to Trif & Golan |
| 222 Hendon Way Ltd | Creditor and related party | GBP 0.1M owed; linked to Trif & Golan |
| Golan Holdings Ltd | Creditor and related party | Owned by Golan, director of MoneynetInt |
Actionable Insight
MoneynetInt remains a significant case study in how financial institutions can operate on the fringe of legality while maintaining regulatory licenses and public credibility. Its continued existence and the re-emergence of onboarding suggest a strategic shift—but questions of accountability for its past roles remain unresolved. Regulators, journalists, and analysts must revisit the company’s past activities, intercompany debts, and suspicious affiliate structures.
Call for Information
Are you an insider, former employee, whistleblower, or affected victim?
We urge you to come forward with information about MoneynetInt’s past or current operations. Your identity will be protected. Help us expose the truth behind one of the most notorious payment facilitators of the binary options and financial cybercrime era.
