It is about time for the Dutch authorities to support the victims of the Wolf of Sofia!
Thousands of victims of the fraudulent websites operated by the Wolf of Sofia (xtraderfx, safemarkets, optionstarsglobal, goldenmarkets) and Uwe Lenhoff (option888, xmarkets, zoomtrader, tradovest, tradeinvest90) continue to suffer severe consequences from the online fraud they endured. Many are facing poverty in old age and are struggling with illnesses such as dementia and Alzheimer’s—direct results of the traumatic experiences they endured.
EFRI has been supporting several hundred victims since 2019, helping them cope with their trauma and legally pursue compensation from Payvision BV and its parent company, ING Bank NV, one of Europe’s largest banks. From 2016 to 2019, PAYVISION BV facilitated payments for BARAK and LENHOFF, enabling their fraudulent schemes. PAYVISION BV processed over € 130 million of victims’ funds. Without the payment services provided by PAYVISION and ING, these scams would never have been possible.
In summer of 2020, the Dutch financial regulator (DNB) compiled a comprehensive audit report detailing Payvision’s violations of Dutch regulatory requirements between 2016 and 2019. To pursue their claims against PAYVISION BV and ING NV in court, the victims urgently need access to key parts of this report, as well as another report from the consulting firm KROLL (possibly commissioned by Mastercard/VISA) in 2020.
To date, both the DNB and the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office have refused to release these reports—or even the relevant sections—to the victims. Moreover, Dutch civil courts seem to have forgotten the fundamental importance of transparency and truth-finding in delivering fair judgments.
Our Petition on Change.org
In our petition published as of today we demand that the victims be granted immediate access to the relevant sections of the Dutch regulator’s (DNB) report and the findings of the KROLL investigation into PAYVISION’s compliance department. Pls support us by signing and by sharing the petition.
A Disgraceful Injustice: Time for Accountability
We find it utterly disgraceful that the De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch law enforcement and also the European Banking Authority (EBA) (we approached them for support in December 2023) have failed up to today to support the fraud victims. This demonstrates a blatant lack of concern and responsibility.