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May 14, 2023

Fact Check! The Ridiculous Black Banx Claim Of Being A $50-Billion FinTech Giant!

Self-proclaimed German FinTech billionaire Michael Gastauer has long suffered from an addiction to portraying himself as big and powerful. Over the past decades, he has built a payment scheme with a network of companies and brands through which funds from illegal transactions were also laundered. He is active with Black Banx, which reportedly has over 20 million customers and would be worth $50 billion. There is virtually nothing that can be verified.

April 6, 2022

Bravo! US court orders Black Banx founder Michael Gastauer to pay over $17 million!

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained a final judgment against Michael Gastauer, the German founder of the Black Banx scheme, for his role in an international scheme that generated more than $165 million of illegal sales of stock on the U.S. markets in at least 50 microcap companies. He is ordered to pay over $17 million. In 2018, the SEC charged Gastauer and six of his US-based entities with aiding and abetting a vast securities fraud scheme orchestrated by UK citizen Roger Knox.

March 17, 2022

Bravo! UK regulator warns against Michael Gastauer’s scam-facilitating Black Banx scheme!

German Michael Gastauer is a hustler on the gray and black side of the financial market. Not coincidentally, his latest company is called Black Banx (previously WB21) and promises to get bank accounts for individuals and merchants accounts in over 180 countries in minutes. On LinkedIn and its website, Black Banx claims to have 8 million customers and $10 billion in monthly transaction volume. We doubt the figures of this high-risk and dark side payment processor. The UK FCA has issued a warning against Black Banx.

November 30, 2020

OneCoin Update – German prosecutors bring charges of money laundering

German prosecutors have not yet brought charges against the crypto-fraud scheme OneCoin and its principals, but are now taking action against the German payment processors involved. This is a somewhat strange approach and legally contestable. The public prosecutor's office in Bielefeld has brought charges against three people for money laundering for the OneCoin scam. which is not yet legally binding. German payment processors processed more than €360 million for the OneCoin Ponzi scheme.

July 12, 2020

German FinTech Turf -Michael Gastauer and Black Banx

Until recently, Germany had a good reputation in the financial sector although its banking industry has significant structural problems. All the more reason to be proud of Wirecard. The DAX-listed German fintech managed by the two Austrians Markus Braun and Jan Marsalek seemed to be the superstar in the booming market of next-generation payment processors. Until it collapsed. But there are several dubious German fintechs and payment processors that are active in the worldwide cybercrime scene. Michael Gastauer and his group of companies should be mentioned here.

January 16, 2020

Michael Gastauer and Black Banx – The fictional story about a would-be Mogul and FinTech Guru

The German investor, philanthropist and FinTech entrepreneur Michael Gastauer is certainly not a humble person. On the contrary! He is a man of superlatives in every respect. As was the famous (fictitious) Baron Münchhausen also known as the German "Baron of lies". We are not claiming now that Gastauer would definitely be a "lie baron" but there are indications that could lead to this conclusion. Here his story.

CFTC Targets Polymarket and Offshore Crypto Betting Platforms Amid U.S. Presidential Election!

The CFTC’s crackdown on Polymarket and other offshore crypto platforms signals a new phase of enforcement in the prediction market space, where the intersection of derivatives and elections raises complex compliance challenges. With over $930 million in bets placed on Polymarket’s "2024 Presidential Election Winner" market, regulators are taking notice.

SEC
US DOJ

U.S. DOJ and SEC Charge Former CEO and CFO With Fraud and Misleading Auditors!

SEC and DOJ cracked down on fraudulent financial reporting at the tech company Kubient. The company's top executives were misleading investors about revenue, which was central to raising millions. Former CEO Paul Roberts faces up to 20 years for orchestrating this scheme. Kubient is a digital advertising technology whose shares were publicly traded on the Nasdaq between August 2020 and November 2023 under the ticker “KBNT.”

U.S. Tech Companies Face Mounting Regulatory Penalties from EU Authorities

Regulators in the EU are steadily increasing pressure on U.S. tech companies, hitting them with billions in fines for antitrust violations and data privacy breaches. This regulatory offensive is reshaping how these companies operate, especially as new laws like the DMA and DSA come into play. While the U.S. has also taken action against tech giants, the largest monetary penalties have come from European regulators.

Google Wins Major Legal Victory in €1.49 Billion EU Antitrust Case

Google’s legal win against the €1.49 billion fine sets a new precedent in Big Tech’s battle with EU regulators, but the scrutiny is far from over as antitrust challenges mount on multiple fronts. Last week, the EU's top court upheld a fine of €2.42 billion imposed on Google for abusing its dominant position by favoring its comparison shopping service. The war of EU regulators against the dominating U.S. tech companies is far from over.

Auditors
SEC

Audit Firm Prager Metis Settles SEC Charges for Negligence in FTX Audits!

Auditor firm Prager Metis’s negligence in auditing FTX stripped investors of crucial protections, ultimately exposing them to the collapse of one of the biggest crypto frauds in history. The firm agreed to pay $1.95 million to settle charges related to the FTX audits and separate auditor independence violations. The U.S. SEC’s action underscores auditors' vital role as financial gatekeepers.