Since our request for information in connection with Blue Trading and Onyx Capital, more than 150 affected parties have contacted us. In addition, we have already received over 120 registrations for our EFRI Funds Recovery Campaign. Based on the data we already have from other illegal broker scams, we can establish initial hypotheses and conclusions that we want to share with our readers.
Conclusion #1 – Connection With Other Scams
Due to the fact that Blue Trading‘s payment recipients (beneficiaries) have become known, we can conclude that there are close connections to the illegal broker schemes of E&G Bulgaria and Veltyco Group. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the very same shell companies and their bank accounts used for bank wire transactions appeared in all three schemes. Consequently, the first conclusion is that the Blue Trading broker scam was supported by the same payment service providers (PSP).
Among other things, we were able to ascertain that the already known shell companies in Germany are used in the same way as the already known bank accounts at the German Postbank. We also know the Dutch axle from the illegal broker schemes of E&G Bulgaria and Veltyco. And again Cologne in Germany seems to be at the center of these illegal activities as it was with E&G Bulgaria and Veltyco brands:
- SecurityPort GmbH (Cologne)
- StronIT GmbH (Cologne)
- TrustSecure GmbH (Cologne)
- P2P GmbH (Cologne)
- B2G GMBH (Cologne)
After barely 48 hours of research we are still at the very beginning of our investigations and need some time before we can turn hypotheses into proven facts. Currently, we assume that the payment services providers are the usual suspects with Russian and Eastern Europe provenance but we have to prove that and establish the connections.
Conclusion #2 – Blue Trading And Onyx Capital Are Closely Related
The domains www.bluetrading.com and www.onyxcapital.com were both registered in 2002 and both have Mexican connections. It appears that the domains were acquired in 2017 by the operators of Blue Trading and Onyx Capital. Experts and experiences scammers know that older domains have a higher authority with Google and investors. Both domains have been registered via the
Another fact that supports this proximity thesis and the close relationship of Blue Trading and Onyx Capital: both domains were excluded from access by the WayBackMachine of the Internet Archive. An unusual procedure that indicates a common plan to defraud investors and then vanish into the dark (Russian) side of the web.
Ultimately, neither Blue Trading nor Onyx Capital
Conclusion #3 – Closing Down Was Planned
According to the information available to us, the two remaining bosses of the E&G Bulgaria network, Gery Shalon and Vladislav Smirnov ordered that the investors of their different illegal brands have to lose their money. This was a result of the enforcement action against E&G Bulgaria and the Veltyco network and the arrests of its respective heads Gal Barak and Uwe Lenhoff. The intention of this “let them lose their money” is to prevent further criminal investigations and enforcement actions. Investors losing their money in high-risk trades can (a) neither request withdrawals nor can they (b) report fraud. They simply lost their money with a high-risk investment opportunity. A thoroughly intelligent strategy from the fraudsters’ point of view.
In fact, Blue Trading has closed down on or around Feb 24, 2019, only a few days after FinTelegram received this information. It looks like coordinated action.
Status And Outlook
These are the first findings of the FinTelegram team based on the available data. We are currently working on the details and exchange information with the police and investigating authorities in various countries. More updates will be released soon as we progress with our investigations.
Update: we have established a separate telegram channel for the victims of this scam: Blue Trading. pls join if interested.
File Your Claim Or Information With EFRI
If you are a Blue Trading investor and/or you have information on this illegal broker and its partner Onyx Capital and/or the people behind the scheme we would be more than happy to receive your claim and/or information via our EFRI Campaign site:
