We are seeking whistleblower information on the high-risk payment processor Continent Pay, which is reportedly controlled by Gery Shalon, also known as Garri Shalelashvili. He is an Israeli national originally from Georgia and is considered one of the world’s most notorious cybercriminals. He gained infamy for orchestrating cyberattacks on the U.S. financial sector, including the largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution in 2014, which affected over 100 million people.
Background on Gery Shalon
Gery Shalon was arrested in Israel in 2015 and subsequently extradited to the United States. In November 2015, U.S. authorities charged him with organizing extensive cyberattacks on U.S. financial institutions, brokerage firms, and a major news agency. These attacks were unprecedented in scale and impact, resulting in massive data breaches and significant financial losses.
Read our latest update on Gery Shalon here.
After his confession and the confiscation of over $400 million by U.S. authorities, Shalon returned to Israel in 2022/23. Since then, he has reportedly developed online casino and gambling activities within the OX Gaming group. Our information suggests that he also controls Continent Pay, a high-risk payment processor operated by MARKET PROMO Sp. z o.o., based in Warsaw, Poland.
Continent Pay’s Operations
Our review indicates that ContinentPay is a player in the high-risk payment processing sector, with nearly 470,000 monthly visitors to its website. According to Similarweb data, almost all visitors are redirected from online gambling sites. Notably, the online casino Atlantis Slots, operated by Pennytech Holding B.V. and licensed in Curaçao, has been identified as the top referrer of traffic to the ContinentPay website in the past 28 days.
Further investigation revealed that customer deposits for Atlantis Slots are processed via Continent Pay using various methods, including debit/credit cards and Binance Pay. UAB Criptomy (company data) is listed as the merchant for Binance Pay transactions, with Mariana Achim registered as the managing director. FinTelegram will do a separate review of Atlantis Slots and related gambling schemes.
Legal and Compliance Concerns
Atlantis Slots is operating illegally in Europe and other jurisdictions, as the Curaçao license does not permit services in the EEA regions. Letovio Holding Ltd., based in Limassol, Cyprus, facilitating these transactions raises significant legal and compliance issues. It appears that Letovio Holding is receiving illegally obtained funds from EEA players into an EU bank account.
Continent Pay Key Data
| Trading name | Continent Pay |
| Business activity | High-risk payment processor |
| Domain | https://continentpay.com |
| Legal entity | MARKET PROMO Sp. z o.o. |
| Jurisdiction | Poland |
| Authorization | No |
| Related individuals | Gery Shalon |
| Related schems | OX Gaming |
| Clients | Atlantis Slots (https://www.atlantissyou.com) operated by Pennytech Holding B.V. and Letovio Holding Ltd |
Call for Information
In light of these findings, we urge anyone with information about ContinentPay and its alleged connections to Gery Shalon to come forward. Transparency and compliance are critical in combating financial crime and ensuring the integrity of financial markets. Your insights can play a crucial role in our ongoing investigation. Please share any relevant information through Whistle42, our whistleblowing system.
