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Tag: Phoenix Payments

February 5, 2021

Fund Recovery – Paytah Class Action Campaign

Scam-facilitating payment processors are co-conspirators. Paytah, regulated in Malta by the MFSA, is one of these payment processors. Paytah accepted scam customers and processed their payments. Many victims of Paytah customers lost a lot of money via the payment processor's clients. The former Chief Compliance Officer has filed a complaint with the authorities because of alleged AML/KYC violations.

February 3, 2021

Former Chief Compliance Officer reported Maltese payment processor Paytah to Interpol

Following the Paytah case, one fails to understand how the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) have failed to clamp down Phoenix Payments Limited d/b/a Paytah. Interpol investigates the MFSA-regulated high-risk payment processor, Paytah's former Chief Legal and Compliance Officer (CCO) claims. She is currently under the protection of the Maltese Whistleblower Act, but Paytah is still licensed. The public court documents show that she had her job terminated as soon as she raised material AML/KYC issues.

February 2, 2021

Paytah Case – Former MLRO testifies that the payment processor was involved in shabby business

Public court documents suggest that high-risk payment processor Paytah, operated by Malta-based and MFSA-regulated Phoenix Payments Ltd, was into shabby business. Marco Lavanna, the company's beneficial owner and director, dismissed the former Money-Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) and compliance officer who raised serious issues with the company’s management. The dismissed MLRO has now sued her former employer on the grounds of unfair dismissal and, under oath, reveals the payment processor's incompliant business approach.

January 31, 2021

European Compliance Mess – A challenging week for BaFin and MFSA

BaFin's President Felix Hufeld and Vice President Elisabeth Roegele had to resign because of the Wirecard scandal. Germany's Finance Minister Olaf Scholz wants to make a fresh start. In Malta, former CEO Joe Cuschieri and his longtime confidant and MFSA General Counsel Edwina Licari are involved in compliance issues. They have let themselves be invited to Las Vegas by Yorgen Fenech. Fenech is said to be the mastermind behind the murder of investigative blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia and suspected of bribing members of the former Maltese government.

January 21, 2021

Wanted for funds – Maltese payment processor Paytah in legal troubles

Paytah is operated by Phoenix Payments Ltd, a company registered in Malta and regulated by MFSA. As reported by FinTelegram, PayTah has facilitated vast broker scams, including LincolnFX, RoyalsFX, CodexFX between 2019 and 2020. Victims of these scams have provided the European Fund Recovery Initiative (EFRI) with the Power of Attorney to recover their funds. Via its Maltese lawyer EFRI has taken actions to recover the victims' funds from Paytah. Currently, the Maltese connection is chasing after the Paytah people.

January 12, 2021

Scam-facilitating Maltese payment processor PayTah refused to recognize its legal responsibility

Payment processors must comply with the applicable KYC and AML regulations. Especially when onboarding new merchants and monitoring their transactions. Recently, we reported that the high-risk payment processor Phoenix Payments Ltd d/b/a Paytah (www.paytah.com). Paytah is to be held liable for this but has so far refused to accept its responsibility for intentionally or grossly negligently supporting the scams and refuses to provide any assistance to the victims.

January 3, 2021

EFRI takes action against scam-facilitating Maltese payment processor Paytah

Phoenix Payments Ltd provides payments services d/b/a as Paytah. Between 2019 and 2020, the payment processor has been processing hundreds of thousands of euros from victims of LincolnFX, RoyalsFX, CodexFX, and other scams. The legal entities behind these scams have been clients of Paytah. The company directors are the Italian Marco Lavanna, the Maltese Keith Farrugia, and Spaniard Francesc Xavier Alabart Lopez. The payment processor's beneficial owner is payment veteran Marco Lavanna through his Swiss-registered firm named Fenice Holding SA.

US Treasury Forgives Ukraine Looters!

On 26 September 2024, the United States Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ‘FinCEN’ made the astonishing decision to drop sanctions against ABLV Bank of Latvia. ABLV was sanctioned in 2018 for a list of reasons, including helping Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich’s bagman, Serhiy Kurchenko, steal billions of dollars from Ukraine.

Gurbir Grewal’s Departure from the SEC: His New Position and Potential Impact on Crypto Regulation!

Gurbir S. Grewal, the former Director of the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has left his position to join Milbank LLP, one of the most innovative and prestigious law firms globally. This transition from his high-profile regulatory role to private practice is likely to have lasting implications, particularly on the SEC’s enforcement strategy in the crypto sector.

Warning Against The Imminent Danger of Pig Butchering For The Dawning Cyber Society!

Pig butchering scams are a devastating form of cybercrime that blend romance and investment fraud, leaving victims emotionally and financially shattered. These sophisticated operations, run by organized crime syndicates, often exploit human trafficking victims as unwilling scammers. The perpetrators meticulously cultivate trust over months, luring targets into fraudulent cryptocurrency investments through fake platforms.

MLM Schemes

Latest Arrests in $4 Billion Forex AI Fraud Scheme OmegaPro and the Austrian Connection!

FinTelegram has reported on the fraudulent crypto MLM schemes OMNIA Tech and OmegaPro several times in the past. This week, various media outlets have reported the arrest of Robert Velghe in Turkey, who has played a crucial role in both scams. The OmegaPro MLM scam is believed to have stolen around $4 billion from victims worldwide. Here is our update with a request for additional information from whistleblowers.

Crypto MLM Scam: David Carmona Sentenced to 121 Months for IcomTech Crypto Ponzi Scheme!

iComTech was one of the numerous fraudulent MLM schemes that used cryptocurrencies as a means of fraud in parallel with the crypto hype of 2017/18. David Carmora started IcomTech in approximately 2018 with other co-conspirators as a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company. The scheme promised to earn its victims high profits and guaranteed daily returns that would double their money within six months.