OpenPayd Faces Regulatory Trouble in Malta After Investor Compensation Ruling!

FinTelegram Financial Intelligence Unit
📅 March 2025

1. Executive Summary

OpenPayd, a Malta-licensed payment institution long flagged by FinTelegram for its involvement in facilitating high-risk transactions and supporting scam-related financial infrastructure, has now been officially held liable by Malta’s Financial Arbiter. The ruling follows an investigation into a case in which an elderly woman was aggressively manipulated by fraudsters and lost her investment through an account operated via OpenPayd’s virtual IBAN infrastructure.

This decision marks a significant turning point. It is the first time OpenPayd has been ordered to compensate a scam victim after multiple previous complaints were dismissed on technicalities. The ruling underscores serious compliance deficiencies, the lack of consumer protection, and the risks inherent in OpenPayd’s business model. OpenPayd is appealing the decision, Times of Malta reports.

Numerous FinTelegram reports have highlighted the dubious business practices of OpenPayd and its founder, Ozan Ozerk, who has built a global fintech empire by servicing unregulated brokers, crypto schemes, and high-risk clients.

Read our OpenPayd reports here.

2. Case Overview: Virtual IBANs and Complicity in Crypto Scams

In the most recent case adjudicated by Malta’s Financial Arbiter Alfred Mifsud, an elderly woman was coerced by scammers into investing in cryptocurrency. Unknown to her, the funds she transferred via a virtual IBAN ended up in the hands of fraudsters operating cryptocurrency exchanges—which held accounts with OpenPayd.

Key Facts:

3. Systemic Risk: How OpenPayd’s Infrastructure Enables Fraud

This case exposes how OpenPayd’s infrastructure—particularly its use of virtual IBANs—can be abused to launder funds and bypass accountability.

• Virtual IBANs (vIBANs) are sub-accounts linked to a master account, often used by exchanges or high-volume clients.
• In this case, the virtual IBAN appeared to be owned by the victim, but the funds were instantly routed to the master account held by a third party—the crypto exchange.
• The fraudsters used remote access tools (e.g., AnyDesk) to create accounts in the victim’s name and facilitated multiple bank transfers, which ultimately disappeared into the crypto space.

🛑 The arbiter criticized OpenPayd for a complete lack of safeguards:

“OpenPayd took it upon themselves to just credit the woman’s funds to a third-party client of theirs, without the victim’s permission and without any internal systems to ensure clarity about a payment involving a virtual IBAN.”

4. Pattern of Irregularities: FinTelegram’s Previous Reports on OpenPayd

FinTelegram has issued multiple warnings about OpenPayd’s role as a financial enabler in fraud ecosystems. Its founder, Ozan Ozerk, has built a shadowy banking infrastructure that supports:

• Scam brokers and illegal trading platforms
• Offshore crypto operators and unlicensed exchanges
• White-label fintech services for high-risk PSPs

📌 FinTelegram’s reporting archive documents OpenPayd’s involvement in:

• BBanc
• Toro Banc
• CurrencyRock / Insirex (Lithuania)
• Hasbix Analytics
• Cratos (via Blue Whale Tech)

These entities used OpenPayd accounts to receive and launder scam proceeds, according to whistleblowers and financial data leaks.

5. Regulatory Implications: Time for the MFSA and FCA to Act?

The Maltese Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has so far failed to respond adequately to multiple red flags surrounding OpenPayd.

Meanwhile, OpenPayd continues to operate across jurisdictions, with ties to regulated entities in the UK and across the EU. Given the findings of the arbiter, there is an urgent need for regulatory review.

🧾 Key concerns for regulators:

• OpenPayd’s lack of customer protection controls
• Use of virtual IBANs to obfuscate transaction ownership
• Known partnerships with fraudulent crypto exchanges and scam brokers
• Failure to monitor account activity or ensure transaction legitimacy

6. Table of Entities and Individuals Involved

7. Conclusion & Compliance Warning

The latest ruling against OpenPayd confirms a pattern of negligence, risk tolerance, and complicity in financial operations that routinely facilitate fraud. FinTelegram believes that regulators must now act decisively:

• The MFSA must launch an in-depth investigation into OpenPayd’s practices and licensing.
• The FCA and EU regulators should reassess OpenPayd’s passported services and internal controls.
• Consumers and financial institutions should treat OpenPayd as a high-risk payment institution until further transparency is provided.

8. Call for Whistleblower Information

📢 If you are a former OpenPayd employee, industry insider, or victim of a scam involving OpenPayd, we urge you to come forward. Submit your information securely via Whistle42. Your identity will be protected. Your information may help protect others.