Friday, September 20, 2024

Primic – A German car dealer acting as an illegal payment processor for scams

Spread financial intelligence

Primic GmbH with the registered office in Berlin was established in September 2020, the German companies register says (Source: Northdata). Slawomir Cieszynski from Poland is registered as director and beneficial owner. According to its articles of association, the purpose of the company is to trade in motor vehicles. We do not know whether the company earns money with it. However, we know that the company makes money as an illegal payment processor for scams like AvaChoice (report here).

The www.avachoice.com domain was registered via SquareSpace by a Polish individual in Bierutow, Poland. A victim reported that she had been called several times by an alleged investment adviser with the stage name Klaus Menzel via dutch mobile phone +31 6 85151060. He urged the victim to deposit money via bank wire to the Koop CZ in the Czech Republic, an insurance company. The victim received emails from the domains of AvaChoice (www.avachoice.com), VivaWallet (www.vivawallet.com), and United Tradings with the address Tvrdého 643, 19900 Praha 9, Czech Republic.

Primic is apparently part of a corporate network surrounding broker scams like AvaChoice. The company is registered as a merchant with VivaWallet and receives payments from victims of the scam. Viva Payment Services Single Member S.A. d/b/a VivaWallet is a Greek e-money institution licensed by the Bank of Greece. The company has a branch in Austria which is allegedly registered with the Austrian regulator FMA. The company is a Principal Member of VISA.