The Danish version of (ineffective) AML enforcement!

A huge fine turns out to be a pure joke! København Andelskasse (now FS Finans VI A/S), which was heavily involved in facilitating cybercrime activities from 2016 to July 2018, has been fined 794 million DKK (€103 million) for laundering billions on behalf of international cybercriminal organizations. While this substantial

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Do the Rich and Powerful Get Away with Crime in the Netherlands?

In recent years, several high-profile cases in the Netherlands have raised questions about whether justice is equally applied to all. From cryptocurrency developers to board members of banks and payment companies, these cases illustrate a troubling trend: wealth and influence may afford certain protections, leading many to wonder if the

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Five Examples for Non-effective AML enforcement in Europe!

Although financial institutions worldwide step up their efforts in fighting criminals from using their systems for money laundering, still more than 99% of money laundering proceeds remain in the hands of criminal gangs. It’s not just the massive amounts of money that go unseized that’s troubling (UNODC estimates that between

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how to fight payment fraud

How the EU plans to tackle payment fraud!

The payments landscape has undergone significant changes over the past decade. The changes have been mainly driven by fast-paced technological advancements. Digital payments in the EU have steadily increased, reaching a value of EUR 240 trillion in 2021 (compared to EUR 184.2 trillion in 2017). This trend has been accelerated

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AMLA goes to frankfurt

AMLA in Frankfurt or to “to set a fox to guard the henhouse”

On 22 February 2024, the EU Council and the EU Parliament voted 28 to 26 to establish the new Anti-Money Laundering Authority in Frankfurt, Germany. This authority, anticipated in the highly regarded EU Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Package, is expected to play a crucial role in combating money laundering within the

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GPay contract

Was Payvision an accomplice to the scammers?

For over four years, we have meticulously examined criminal files to decipher the operations of Barak and Lenhoff´s criminal organization and the involvement of Payment Service Providers (PSPs) in these schemes. In recent months, as we collected information for the ongoing civil proceedings against Payvision and Deutsche Bank, we have

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court room

Criminal trials around Barak´s and Lenhoff´s criminal organizations.

The criminal organization around Gal and Marina Barak, Uwe Lenhoff, Gery Shalon, Vlad Smirnov and their service providers (call centers, marketing affiliates, payment service providers) defrauded tens of thousands of innocent retail investors with their fraudulent websites (optionstarsglobal, xtraderfx, safemarkets, cryptopoint, goldenmarkets, zoomtrader, option888, xmarkets, tradovest, tradeinvest90) during the years

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FCA Letter 16 March 2023

Will the Consumer Duty solve the UK payment industry issue?

In July 2022, the British FCA  (Financial Conduct Authority) confirmed that it would be introducing a higher standard of customer protection, requiring regulated firms (including payment institutions and e-money companies) to put their customers’ needs first.  The new “Consumer Duty” rule consists of three elements: New consumer principle. The new

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ING

ING´s checkered money laundering track record!

There are rumors that ING is eager to do a new settlement agreement with the Dutch authorities for the Payvision money laundering case. ING is quite experienced in doing settlement agreements for money laundering cases letting the shareholders pay the fine.  But considering ING´s checkered money laundering track record it

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Case Study_ payment Institutions

Acquirers are liable for enabling the Wolf of Sofia´s scams

Why are acquirers to be held accountable for illegal activities The digitalization pushed by governments worldwide and praised for its benefits in efficiency and productivity comes with high risks for consumers. Online fraud is by now the most commonly experienced crime. In England and Wales, fraud accounts for approximately 41%

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