Tag: ING

The French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) has just recently firmly established the liability of payment processors like WorldPay and Seroph Holding (AlgoCharge) for facilitating unauthorized binary options schemes. As restitution payouts loom, this critical ruling sets a formidable due diligence standard that could ripple across the EU, offering renewed hope for victims pursuing institutional giants like ING's Payvision.

While European gambling regulators intensify their crackdown on illegal offshore casinos, a more uncomfortable question is emerging for the banking sector: are major retail banks, through rigid chargeback practices and weak scrutiny of miscoded card transactions, helping illegal gambling networks stay operational?

The newly published Payvision chats could become the most damaging documentary evidence yet in Europe’s long-running broker scam scandal. According to EFRI and the cited criminal case files, Payvision did not merely process transactions for Lenhoff and Barak-linked fraud networks — it allegedly helped them solve payment problems, reroute settlements, and survive banking disruption, all while generating lucrative fee income.

It is one of the largest European cybercrime cases, with dozens of indictments and victim lawsuits. In its center - the Dutch payment facilitator Payvision. Fresh excerpts from criminal files obtained by FinTelegram put Payvision’s then-CEO Rudolf Booker uncomfortably close to the Lenhoff–Barak scam machine. These are not the fingerprints of a “neutral payment processor,” but the voice of an anxious, hands-on gatekeeper and facilitator.

A consortium of nine major European banks has announced the formation of a groundbreaking initiative to launch a euro-denominated stablecoin compliant with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, marking a significant challenge to the US-dominated stablecoin market.

Comprehensive analysis of Tether's unprecedented $500 billion valuation fundraising, examining implications for stablecoin market dynamics, traditional banking competition, regulatory landscape, and potential bubble risks in the context of accelerating institutional adoption.

Ralph Hamers once graced conference stages as Europe’s “digital banking messiah.” Today, he is better known for a €360 m* Payvision fiasco, a record €775 m money-laundering fine at ING, an aborted $1.4 bn Wealthfront buyout, and an unceremonious exit from UBS as the Credit Suisse rescue loomed.

The European Fund Recovery Initiative (EFRI) has filed a disciplinary complaint with the Haagse Orde van Advocaten against top-tier Dutch firm BarentsKrans and partner William Schonewille. The Bar has acknowledged receipt and assigned the matter to its supervisory board (file number undisclosed). EFRI alleges conflict-of-interest concealment, abrupt withdrawal on the eve of a deadline, and retention of unearned fees in a mass-fraud appeal against ING subsidiary Payvision. More than 600 retail victims are left without counsel.

The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) was sold to legislators as the end of Europe’s regulatory patch-work. In theory, every crypto-asset service provider (CASP) will live under the same anti-money-laundering (AML), governance and disclosure standards from 30 December 2024. In practice, the first six months of “early bird” licensing suggest that member states are already competing to become the Cayman Islands of MiCA.

In a case that raises fundamental questions about legal ethics and professional accountability, the Dutch law firm BarentsKrans has come under fire for abandoning the European Fund Recovery Initiative (EFRI) and over 600 financial fraud victims just days before a critical court deadline. EFRI accuses the law firm of concealment, conflict of interest, and unethical conduct—all while pocketing tens of thousands of euros meant for justice. This is not just a legal misstep. It’s a betrayal.

Tether, the world’s leading stablecoin issuer, has shocked the crypto and financial world by investing in StablR, an EU stablecoin issuer run by former Payvision COO Gijs op de Weegh. This move raises serious questions about Tether’s due diligence processes and ethical commitments, as StablR’s leadership is tied to one of Europe’s most notorious financial scandals involving cybercrime facilitation. Crypto investors and stablecoin users should proceed with caution.

Former ING CEO Ralph Hamers continues to face legal scrutiny for his role in ING's involvement in large-scale money laundering activities. Although the bank settled with Dutch authorities in 2018, paying a €775 million fine, Hamers has yet to be personally charged. Despite a Dutch court's order, prosecutors have yet to formally indict him, raising questions about the pace and priority of anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement in the Netherlands compared to other EU jurisdictions.