Several regulators have warned against the FinMax (www.finmax.com) scams already. n Jan 2019, the German BaFin warned against the mutation FinMaxBO (www.finmaxbo.com) and issued a Cease-and-Desist Order today. In Oc 2020, the Spanish CNMV warned against the mutation FinmaxFX (www.finmaxfx.com). The scams are operated by Max Capital Limited, Vanuatu, and Gatelinas UAB, Lithuania. Although Max Capital is licensed by the Vanuatu Securities and Exchange Commission (VFSC), it’s not authorized to scam anybody. As scam-facilitation payment processors, we have uncovered Webmoney, VLoad, advcash, and Aveia. And Praxis Cashier, of course. The scam is still online, even though some payment options are no longer available.
The company
Max Capital Limited was registered by the VFSC with company number 41072 in February 2019 with a capital of $2,000. The company was founded by Olena Vakulenko, who was also appointed as a director of the company. The VFSC authorizes the company to engage in the banking business as defined in the Financial Institutions Act and the International Bank Act. Bravo! A company with just $2,000 is allowed to engage in the banking business.
Olena Vakulenko is also the CEO of the Lithuanian Softcast UAB (d/b/a Bluemedia24 and Media24 with the domainwww.bluemedia24.com), a digital marketing agency. This makes perfect sense, as the Lithuanian Gatelinas UAB also acts as a co-operator of Finmax scams. This company is registered at the same address as Media24.
There is also a Max Capital Limited in Seychelles which is also used to run scams on the Finmax network. Also linked to the Finmax scams is Morris Processing Ltd, registered in the UK, where the Ukrainian Oleksandr Vakulenko was registered as a beneficial owner. The company was deleted in October 2020. IK Partners Ltd, registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, too, was registered as a beneficial owner of Morris Processing.
The payment faciliators
It is amazing that three regulated financial institutions are acting as payment facilitators for the illegal activities of Finmax and its group of scams:
- VLoad (http://www.vload.com) is Global Primex Limited‘s trading name, a company licensed by the Financial Services Commission in Mauritius. VLoad operates in Europe through its Polish subsidiary Global Primex Sp. z o.o. The Global Primex Group is managed and controlled by Hubert Bartoszewski of Poland (Companies House).
- advcash or ADV (www.advcash.gi) is the trading name of Advanced Cash Limited, a company registered in Belize with a license from the Belize Internet Financial Services Commission (IFS), which is not valid in Europe. ADV offers FIAT and crypto payment services. The latter in a partnership with crypto exchange Binance.
- Aveia (http://www.aveia-ps.com) acts as an intermediary for payments made through advcash. Aveia is operated by Aveia Ltd, a company registered in the UK, London, and is managed and controlled by Russian Andrei Suslin (Companies House).
Payment processors (unregulated and regulated) who knowingly and willingly support illegal business or scams with their services are guilty of aiding and abetting fraud and money laundering. Unfortunately, many payment processors in the cyberfinance segment – FinTechs or PayTechs – make a lot of money by supporting cybercrime activities.
Max Capital Limited is a scam. They scammed me for 50k