Overview of Investigations Regulatory bodies in Poland and other EU member states have initiated investigations into the operations of MoneyNetInt Ltd, a UK-registered payment service provider. The company is suspected of processing transactions on behalf of numerous fraudulent investment platforms, including binary options and unregulated brokers. Several whistleblowers and affected individuals have alleged that MoneyNetInt facilitated payments through its Polish bank accounts, acting as a financial intermediary in schemes that resulted in significant investor losses. Scam-or Project, an independent news platform focused on financial fraud, has also reported extensively on the PSP’s connections to unregulated trading schemes and highlighted its…
Author: Tom
Background: Lenhoff’s Scams and Corporate Ties The Annual General Meeting of Veltyco Group, scheduled for September 19, 2019, carries substantial significance not only for shareholders, but also for those impacted by various online trading and lottery platforms linked to the company’s founder, Uwe Lenhoff. Uwe Lenhoff has been linked to a number of controversial online operations, including binary options platforms like Option888, TradoVest, and XMarkets, as well as the lottery betting site LottoPalace. These ventures were publicly associated with Veltyco, which handled much of the marketing and customer acquisition. In early 2019, Lenhoff was taken into custody by authorities and…
Overview: Payvision’s Role in Broker Fraud Networks This article continues our deep dive into the Payvision story. In Part I, we outlined the key facts: Payvision, an Amsterdam-based financial services provider led by CEO Rudolf Booker, played a significant role in processing payments for major broker scams connected to German national Uwe Lenhoff and Israeli partner Gal Barak. In this second installment, we examine the flow of funds from defrauded investors to fraudulent operators through entities such as GPay Ltd and Rockarage Ltd, both controlled by Gal Barak. These companies supported illicit schemes including XTraderFX, SafeMarkets, Golden Markets, and CryptoPoint.…
The Rise and Fall of Israel’s Binary Options Industry In 2016, Israeli investigative journalist Simona Weinglass shed light on the widespread binary options fraud in her groundbreaking series “The Wolves of Tel Aviv.” Her reports uncovered that tens of thousands of Israelis—mainly in Tel Aviv—had been working in fraudulent trading operations, with the binary options industry once hailed as a pillar of Israel’s tech boom. Weinglass repeatedly criticized political inaction in Israel, arguing that it enabled the exploitation of countless global victims. Following the industry’s collapse, the key figures behind the scams are now entangled in a vicious legal, reputational,…
Ongoing Legal Battle for Extradition For more than six months, legal authorities in Austria and Bulgaria have been engaged in a jurisdictional tug-of-war over the extradition of Gal Barak. Despite multiple scheduled court sessions in Sofia, delays have been frequent. The next hearing is currently set for November 4, 2019. Meanwhile, attention has shifted to identifying Barak’s allies and collaborators. According to the Bulgarian publication Lupo, Barak—referred to as a top Israeli fraudster—is attempting to deflect responsibility by pointing fingers at his former associate and fellow Israeli, Ilan Tzorya. A Test Case for the European Union The cybercrime allegations tied…
Background and Legal Developments The ongoing legal proceedings concerning the extradition of Gal Barak, an Israeli national accused of operating fraudulent investment schemes, continue to unfold. Barak is currently facing extradition from Bulgaria to Austria, where legal action is being pursued in connection with alleged fraud and money laundering activities. His former business associate, Uwe Lenhoff, has been in custody since early 2019, awaiting trial in Germany. Investigations have also extended to other figures connected to Barak’s operations, including Israeli citizen Gery “Gabi” Shalon and Russian national Vladislav “Vlad” Smirnov. Authorities in both Europe and the United States are currently…
The 2019 Arrest of Uwe Lenhoff In January 2019, German citizen Uwe Lenhoff was taken into custody following an extensive investigation by authorities in Germany, Austria, and other EU member states. Prosecutors allege that Lenhoff operated a broad network of fraudulent binary options websites, defrauding tens of thousands of retail investors across Europe with estimated losses surpassing €100 million. Simultaneously, a European arrest warrant was issued for his associate, Gal Barak of Israel, signaling the coordinated efforts by law enforcement to dismantle the operation. The Lenhoff Network: A Closer Look Currently detained in Germany, Uwe Lenhoff, 55, awaits trial. Additional…
The FinTech Sector’s Role in Supporting Fraud The importance of financial technology providers in enabling large-scale investment fraud has become increasingly evident. U.S. prosecutors have repeatedly emphasized that online scams often rely on cooperating FinTech firms to handle transactions. Without these intermediaries, it would be significantly more difficult — if not impossible — for scam operations to collect funds from retail victims. One of the most telling examples of this is the case of Payvision, a Dutch FinTech company and former ING subsidiary, which is reported to have processed around €130 million in payments for schemes tied to Uwe Lenhoff…
Payment Processors as Enablers of Online Fraud The rise of cybercrime — especially fraudulent online brokers — has often depended on the cooperation of unregulated payment processors. Over the last decade, the boom of financial technology coincided with the growth of widespread binary options fraud and broker scams. A number of payment service providers are believed to have knowingly handled transactions tied to fraudulent operations, profiting from funds that were illicitly obtained from unsuspecting investors. These processors are increasingly being recognized as critical accomplices in the broader ecosystem of financial scams, and calls for accountability have intensified. Among the companies…
Rudolf Booker, Cheng Liem Li, and Gijs op de Weegh Leave the Company A significant leadership change has taken place at Payvision. The company’s original founders — Rudolf Booker, Cheng Liem Li, and Gijs op de Weegh — have formally resigned from their positions. The announcement, made by Booker via LinkedIn, comes amid intensifying scrutiny over Payvision’s historic business ties to now-imprisoned cybercrime figures. Booker, who launched Payvision in 2002 and served as its CEO, had long-standing connections with controversial individuals such as Uwe Lenhoff and Gal Barak. Both Lenhoff and Barak are currently incarcerated and awaiting further charges in…