Tag: Spintop Capital

The Russian-controlled high-risk payment processor Payeer has been on our radar since 2021. Since then, the operating companies behind the payment facilitator have changed several times. We have also discovered Payeer to be a facilitator of scams during this time. Currently, Payeer is one of the payment facilitators for the (interconnected) offshore broker schemes Pocket Option and PO Trade, alongside Advcash and Perfect Money. Here is our latest update.

FinTelegram has reported several times about crypto payment processor Payeer which is controlled by Russian nationals. We have already discovered Payeer as a payment processor in scams several times. The Estonian FIU announced that Payeer had lost its license. The Estonian FIU exposed deficiencies, and the license would have been invalidated. However, Payeer decided to renounce their license to avoid the revocation. Now, the scheme operates with a crypto license in Lithuania!

Over the last years, FinTelegram has discovered the Russian-controlled high-risk payment processor Itez in several scams, such as FXOptex, Optimus Markets, and Spintop Capital. Itez is operated by FIU-licensed Estonian DataBridge OÜ and the UK-registered Hypergate Ltd. In both companies, Maria Neverdinova-Rostovtseva is installed as a director. The Itez scheme is connected to the Italian Allesandro Rocco Piedrodola and his group of companies. Similarweb says they mostly do business in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.

The website of the high-risk payment processor Paythrone looks acceptable. Not exactly majestic as the name might suggest, but nice. Other than that, you won't find much on the website. Neither is it stated (or we didn't find it) which legal entities and persons operate the payment facilitator or under which jurisdiction it operates. We have found the payment processor focused on "complex merchants" most recently in the two broker scams Spintop Capital and Optimus Markets. However, we would love to learn more about the mysterious provider.

We have already discovered the high-risk payment processor Itez (www.itez.com) in several scams as a facilitator. For example, FXOptex, Optimus Markets, and Spintop Capital have integrated Itez as a payment processor. Itez is operated by DataBridge OÜ, which is licensed in Estonia by the relevant FIU. Maria Neverdinova-Rostovtseva is installed there as Nominee Director (Monkey). Currently, we do not know the beneficial owners of DataBridge. We would like to know more about the payment processor.

UK FCA issued an investor warning against the scam broker Optimus Markets (www.optimusmarkets.com), allegedly operated by Hungarian Dragon Capital KFT (a/k/a Dragon Capital Limited). This entity also operates the Spintop Capital scam. Both scams target victims in Europe and Russia. Several Russian payment processors are integrated, and the sites are available in Russian. The main currency used when selecting the payment option is the Russian ruble. QIWI, Itez, Payeer, Alikassa, BetaTransfer, Paythrone, and Pay Op are integrated as payment processors.