Over the years, we have learned that public (open) investigations evolve. Typically, after publishing initial reports or Requests 4 Information (R4I), we receive additional information from whistleblowers and victims. With the new information, we continuously update the reports. Therefore, it has often seemed like a mosaic of information for our readers to piece together. We try to avoid this Mosaic Approach in the future. Therefore, here is a new-form update on the licensed Estonian crypto payment processor Woodstocks OÜ d/b/a Coinmond and FMA Crypto.
The Trade Com Racket is believed to have a headquarters in Albania. JPM Capitals, ProfxCredit, FMA Crypto, Coinmond, GlobalSpotFX, Spotfinex, FXonspot, and TopEuroFX are part of the racket. In January and August 2020, the UK FCA issued investor warnings against the FXonspot scam; in September 2020, the Spanish CNMV followed. The racket offers the trading app TopEuroFX for free download in the Google store. As facilitating payment processors, we have recently discovered Payecards, the Estonian Woodstock OÜ, the UK Cashaa Technologies Ltd, and Net Kantor.
Another day and a few hundred new victims. A victim of broker scam GlobalSpotFX was invited by the boiler room agents to make investments at JPM Capitals. This was to enable him to recoup his previous losses at GlobalSpotFX (a/k/a SpotFinex a/k/a TopEuroFX). The victim recorded the phone numbers and fake names of the various boiler room agents in his detailed protocol. Therefore, he was able to identify the caller from JPM Capitals as an agent of the Albanian boiler room behind GlobalSpotFX. So stay far away from JPM Capitals.
In our researches on scam-facilitating payment processors, Finolita Unio UAB, regulated by the Bank of Lithuania with authorization code LB000490, came to our attention only once as a payment facilitator in the GlobalSpotFX scam with the Estonian Woodstock OÜ (report here). The Financial Times reports that Finolita Unio is part of Senjo Group, a former Wirecard partner through which hundreds of millions have flowed and vanished. More than €100M have been processed through its Lithuanian subsidiary.
We have recently discovered the licensed Estonian crypto payment processor Woodstock OÜ as a payment processor in the Trade Com scams network with GlobalSpotFX, Spotfinex, FXonspot, or TopEuroFX. These scams' victims deposited money through Woodstock's bank accounts with Lithuanian financial institutions Finolita Unio UAB, GlobalNetInt UAB, the Maltese Secure Trading Financial Services Limited, and crypto exchanges. Woodstock is controlled by Marianna Charalampous and does not even have a functioning website.
GlobalSpotFX, Spotfinex, FXonspot, and TopEuroFX are associated with a Trade Com Limited, which does not appear to exist. In January and August 2020, the UK FCA issued investor warnings against the FXonspot scam; in September 2020, the Spanish CNMV. Until recently, the Google App Store offered the Spotfinex trading app. This has been renamed TopEuro FX (www.topeurofx.com) and is still available for download. As facilitating payment processors, we have discovered Payecards and Estonian Woodstock OÜ with the Lithuanian e-Money Institution Finolita Unio.
The Spanish regulator CNMV has issued an investor warning against the scam broker GlobalspotFX (www.globalspotfx.com). The scam is allegedly operated by Trade Com Limited for an office in London. As a payment provider we have found the Russian PayeCards (www.payecards.com). Already in July 2020, the Italian regulator CONSOB had issued a warning against the scam.