The illegal broker AstonTrust (www.astontrust.net) is a part of the PumaTS network, as we uncovered in our latest update. It is allegedly operated by BMB Services Ltd, registered in the Marshall Islands with company number 103882. At least, that is what the terms and conditions on the website state. The AstonTrust broker has integrated the regulated Estonian crypto payment processor Venus Exchange (www.venus.exchange), operated by Steveyx OÜ and AM Estonia Services OÜ (companies register).
The governing law stated in the Terms and Conditions is that BMB Services Ltd has an office in London and that UK law applies. Until November 2020, BMD Services Limited actually existed as a UK-registered company. In September 2020, the company filed an application for and voluntary strike-off. The Brit John Alastair Smith was the only registered director of this company. We don’t know if these two companies are connected.
Allegedly, the AstonTrust scam is run by the boiler rooms of Global-Tech in Belgrade, Serbia.
On its website, Venus Exchange informs that it is a regulated crypto payment processor with the FIU license number FVT000069. Igor Torsin, born in July 1958, is the only registered director. According to the Estonian companies register, this person is also a director in eight other companies. He is a nominee director behind which the beneficial owners hide.
On the Venus Exchange website, there is a note that the paying agent is the Estonian AM Estonia Services Ltd (Companies Register). This company apparently has its offices in Cyprus, as some job postings show. For example, in January 2020, the company was looking for a Payment Officer in Cyprus. We have identified AM Estonia Services as a facilitating payment processor already in other scams (read the report here).
