March 21, 2025

Greetings From Amsterdam, 

How does a scammer get paid? Our latest reporting from the Scam Empire project sheds light on how emerging digital banks, middleman wire transfer brokers and a dizzying network of shell companies enabled and facilitated global scam operations.

OCCRP has collaborated with over 30 media partners to expose the global operations of two scam centers that, between them, bilked at least 32,000 people out of $275 million since early 2021. One worked out of Europe and Israel, and the other was based in the South Caucasus nation of Georgia. 

Reporters sifted through 1.9 terabytes of data leaked to Swedish Television, and through this have pieced together a clear picture of how vast amounts of money were able to be moved around the world without detection. 
 

New Investigations

British tradesman Mark made his first payment to financial advisor “Liliana” to an accounta Bulgarian company at the neobank Revolut. His case was typical of those examined by reporters as part of this investigation.

In some cases, victims would be walked through the process of converting funds to crypto, then would send it on to wallets held by the scammers. In others, victims would be talked through setting up accounts with online-only “neobanks” such as Wise, Revolut and Wirex, and sometimes supplied with scripts for answering questions about their outward transactions — in the event anyone asked.

Mark’s advisor, who he communicated with over WhatsApp, urged him to open an account with UK digital-first bank Chase. She provided him with precise instructions for what he should do if Chase questioned transactions: tell the bank that the 7,000 pounds were for “theater tickets”.



By examining financial documents from the leaked data trove, OCCRP has uncovered how a vast network of middleman payment service providers — which included cryptocurrency exchanges, wire transfer companies — enabled the movement of victims’ payments. These "payment service providers" were not licensed and in most cases did not appear to correspond to real legal entities. They allowed scammers to access international payments, while distancing themselves from the transactions.

One payment service provider, operating under the name Bankio, provided scammers with instant access to bank accounts they could instruct their victims to send money to. Bankio and other providers like it would create invoices for non-existent goods or services that scammers could use to justify the transfer of funds.



Despite the slick branding, there is no corporate entity registered under the name Bankio, and reporters could not determine who was behind it. Evidence from the leak strongly suggests it is connected to a similar service provider, Anywires, which was widely used by the Israeli/European operation. In internal documents, Bankio and Anywheres were referred to interchangeably.

The movement of funds in these operations was complex by design. To wit: “In one money-moving scheme traced by reporters, victims’ funds were sent to a group of firms registered in Spain and the United Kingdom, who moved it among themselves before routing it to a second tier of firms, mostly in the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and Hungary. The money then flowed to other firms, disguised as consultancies, in Cyprus and North Macedonia, before the trail was lost.”

Another enabling factor was Virtual International Bank Account Numbers, or VIBANs. Traditional banks are associated with IBANs, which are connected to one specific bank account at that institution. A VIBAN, however, allows certain bank clients — typically other financial institutions or payment processors — to set up sub-accounts connected to a single master account.

While Mark was ultimately able to get some of his stolen savings back through a private fund recovery firm, the ordeal placed him under enormous stress and left him feeling humiliated. Untold thousands around the world have faced similar personal devastation and financial ruin. That’s why we’ll keep trying to shed light on how scammers are exploiting weaknesses and loopholes in the global banking system to siphon victims’ money away. 

Read the full story 

More OCCRP Reporting

While US-sanctioned Russian state media outlet RT has all but disappeared from TV screens in the West, and its official accounts remain suspended from Facebook and Instagram, it’s found a way to keep pushing pro-Kremlin messaging on video and social media platforms. 

An investigation by our Russian partner, iStories, reveals that seemingly independent influencers, some with millions of views on their content, have secretly received payments from RT even as they promoted the idea of Russia as a bastion of conservative values and justified the country’s war on Ukraine. 

One RT employee left the network and launched his own YouTube channel, “Real Reporter,” right after the invasion. But though he promised unbiased, authentic content, tax records show he earned over $180,000 from RT while releasing over two dozen videos.
 
Read the full story 

More OCCRP Reporting

EXCLUSIVE: Accused Romance Scam Fugitive Living Large in Dubai
A Nigerian man wanted by the U.S. over wire fraud charges tied to an online romance scam has been tracked down in Dubai, where recent social media posts showed him to be enjoying the spoils of his ill-gotten wealth.

Jeremiah Adejoh was named in a February 2024 indictment filing, which detailed a case of an unnamed professional online sports “e-athlete” who he allegedly fleeced out of $1.3 million worth of bitcoin.

Dubai Land Department property records show the 30-year-old alleged scammer bought two properties valued at around $860,000 in 2020, just weeks after prosecutors allege the cryptocurrency was cashed out. The records show that Adejoh used a passport from the Caribbean island nation of St Kitts and Nevis, a popular destination for Citizenship By Investment schemes. Read the full story →
 

Azerbaijan Escalates Crackdown on Civil Society, Activists and NGOs 
The authorities in Azerbaijan have arrested two prominent NGO figures and are pursuing criminal charges against exiled activists, as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent. 

Five bloggers have been accused of terrorism, inciting mass riots, fraud, and making public calls for the forcible seizure of power, the General Prosecutor’s Office alleges.

While returning to face the charges is likely an unappealing prospect, it’s possible they will be sentenced anyway, in absentia. Read the full story →

Silencing the Media: Journalists Face Legal Action After Bank Exposé
Two journalists from an investigative news outlet in Lebanon are facing legal action — raising concerns about targeting of those who report on corruption. The journalists from Daraj have been summoned for questioning after legal complaints were filed by Societe Generale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) Chairman Antoun Sehnaoui.

SGBL was one of several banks mentioned in a Daraj investigation, which outlined alleged financial crimes committed by former governor of Lebanon's central bank Riad Salame, including money laundering and corruption — something he was sanctioned by the U.S. for. Read the full story →

Fraudsters Stranded After Marshall Islands Revokes Passports
Two China-born scammers have had their Marshall Islands passports revoked, leaving them in international limbo. The pair, Cary Yan and Gina Zhou, were denied entry to both Palau and the Philippines earlier this month.

The two had been arrested and extradited to the U.S. in 2022, where they served brief sentences, for their role in a scheme to bribe Marshall Islands politicians into backing a proposed special economic zone — in an area rendered uninhabitable by 1950s nuclear testing.

Yan and Zhou are naturalized Marshall Islands citizens, who say they had renounced their Chinese citizenship. A 2023 OCCRP investigation  revealed that the scheme was just one of several grifts linked to the pair: they had also touted a miracle water cure, as well as sought to bribe their way into setting up a fake United Nations agency.  Read the full story →

Upcoming events:

OECD Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum, March 26
Each year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development brings together governments, civil society, and the private sector to discuss new ways to fight corruption and promote integrity and transparency. At next week’s summit, OCCRP’s Chief Product Officer Mark Nightingale will take part in a discussion about “Harnessing Cutting-edge Technologies and Collaboration for a Holistic Fight Against Corruption.” Register here to watch online.

Global Anti-Scam Summit, March 26-27
OCCRP Deputy Editors in Chief Julia Wallace and Pete Jones will be speaking at the Global Anti-Scam Summit next week, lifting the lid on the insidious cyber fraud industry that costs the public hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Register here to watch online.