Ayelet Fruchtlander Knoechelmann

Tag: Ayelet Fruchtlander Knoechelmann

December 13, 2022

Wirecard Trial: They Surely Had A Third-Party Acquiring Network!

In the second day of the Wirecard trial, defense attorneys delivered their opening statements. As expected, the defense attorney of former CEO Markus Braun argued that the controversial Third-Party-Acquiring (TPA) had taken place. On the other hand, the defense counsel of Oliver Bellenhaus, who is the prosecution's key witness, claimed that the TPA businessdid not exist. We are certain that the largely dirty TPA business did exist and that many illegal transactions and scams were conducted via it.

High-risk payment processors

November 1, 2022

The Untold Story From Wirecard And Powercash21 To Payabl

The Powercash21 scheme is already over 20 years old and was created parallel to the collapsed Wirecard. At that time, the buzzword fintech was not even known. The domain www.powercash21.com was registered in 2000 by Ruediger Trautmann even before he became COO of Wirecard in 2005. From 2001, the website was operated by the German Inatec Group. Among others, the former Wirecard manager Dietmar Kuhl acted as managing director at Inatec. In or around 2011, the Cyprus-registered Powercash21 Limited then took over the website's operation.

October 7, 2022

Impressive! Payment Processor Payabl Numbers Exploded Powered By Adult Business And Gambling!

The Similarweb September statistics came out and show that the number of visitors to the website of Cypriot-German payment processor Payabl (formerly PowerCash21) increased tenfold in Q3 2022 - from just under 15,000 to almost 140,000. Similarweb says that more than 55% of website traffic has been sourced from porn sites and just under 35% from gambling, betting, and lottery sites. Payabl is thus likely to have replaced the collapsed Wirecard in Germany as the high-risk payment processor, Similarweb suggests!

Fintech

October 3, 2022

Payabl Investment Klarpay Proudly Announced Its Q3 2022 Milestones!

Klarpay is a FINMA-regulated FinTech and received an investment from Payabl Group a few months ago. The latter was founded by former Wirecard executives Ruediger Trautmann, Dietmar Knoechelmann, and his wife Ayelet Fruchtlander-Knoechelmann. Klarpay announced that in Q3 it became a Principal Member of the VISA network and integrated Visa’s B2B Connect, which enables Klarpay’s business customers to perform cross-currency outbound payments. And it introduced Apple Pay.

Fintech

September 30, 2022

Swiss-Cyprus Payabl Investment Klarpay Seems To Grow Fast In Turkey!

A few months ago, the Cyprus-based Payabl. (formerly PowerCash21) founded by former Wirecard managers Ruediger Trautmann, Dietmar Knoechelmann, and his wife Ayelet Fruchtlander Knoechelmann, led a CHF 3 million investment in the Swiss FINMA-regulated Klarpay AG. Key people of Klarpay are based in Cyprus, and Turkey is probably the most important market according to the latest Similarweb statistics. Klarpay appears as a BDSwiss spin-off, with most of its key executives having worked for the CySEC-regulated broker.

Sam Altman’s Olive Oil Moment: How Graza Became the First Cyber Society EVOO Brand

A Financial Times video interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unexpectedly turned into a viral marketing miracle for a small olive oil brand called Graza. Altman was seen cooking with Graza’s “Drizzle” olive oil—meant for finishing, not cooking—sparking an online debate and catapulting the brand into global awareness. It’s a case study in how digitally native consumer brands can hijack moments.

Chasing René Benko’s Loot: New Investigations Target Benko’s Wife

In recent days, the Austrian Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) has significantly expanded its investigations into the collapse of the Signa Group and its founder, René Benko. According to multiple Austrian media reports, new house searches have taken place at properties belonging to Benko’s wife, Natalie Benko, and his brother in Tyrol.

Crypto’s Dark Side: Money Laundering Scandals Are Reshaping the Cyber Finance Landscape

The $4.2 billion criminal settlement with Binance and the sentencing of its founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), was not an isolated event—it marked the beginning of a new regulatory era. In 2024 and 2025, multiple crypto platforms have come under fire for facilitating money laundering, especially in connection with online gambling, cyber fraud, and unregulated exchanges.

Wirecard’s Jan Marsalek Confirmed as Russian Spy Mastermind in UK Espionage Conviction

A London court has delivered a seismic verdict in the ongoing saga of Wirecard, the collapsed German fintech giant: six Bulgarian nationals have been convicted and sentenced for spying on behalf of Russian intelligence, acting under the direct orders of Wirecard’s fugitive former COO, Jan Marsalek. This marks the first time a court has definitively established that Wirecard, under Marsalek’s leadership.

Odebrecht Scandal: Former BankerPeter Weinzierl Extradited to U.S., Held Without Bail in Brooklyn Jail

Former Meinl Bank CEO Peter Weinzierl has been extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States and is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn. The 59-year-old Austrian banker faces charges related to his alleged involvement in laundering over $170 million in bribes connected to the Odebrecht corruption scandal.