QPay Europe Limited, a merchant services provider which claims to be a fintech startup offering due diligence and underwriting services, has consented to a court order to give up £2M held in its name following proceedings brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the UK Proceeds of Crime Act. The money was initially frozen in urgent proceedings brought by the FCA in October and December 2020. The UK regulator claimed the money was the proceeds of illegal activity connected to the notorious $150M Allied Wallet bank fraud case indicted in the US.
Key data
| Trading name | QPay QPay Europe |
| Domain | www.qpayeurope.com |
| Legal entity | QPay Europe Ltd |
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Related individual | Jason Mark Luker |
| Related fraud case | The U.S. v Allied Wallet bank fraud scheme, Ahmad “Andy” Khawaja, and Thomas Wells, Mohammad “Moe” Diab and Amy Ringler Rountree; charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. |
According to the FCA findings, the money was the proceeds of illegal activity connected to criminal proceedings in the United States concerning the alleged Allied Wallet bank fraud scheme. According to the indictment, executives of the US Allied Wallet Inc., a payment processing company headquartered in Los Angeles, secured payment processing for high-risk businesses through fraudulent misrepresentations about merchant clients. However, the FCA is not alleging that QPay is involved in this conspiracy.
The FCA’s concerns were raised following an application by QPay to become a regulated firm in March 2020. QPay received the money from the software firm Fintech International Q Software WLL, allegedly as an investment. However, the FCA observed that QPay moved the money to different bank accounts in several countries. None of the transactions appeared to be related to a legitimate business. QPay has withdrawn its application to be regulated by the FCA.
The orders are called account forfeiture orders which means the sums totaling £2,000,000 held by QPay are paid to the UK government. The order was made by consent by District Judge Cieciora at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The funds will now be used to assist the FCA and other authorities fight illegal activity. The FCA will continue to vet applications for authorisation to ensure firms meet our standards of integrity as well as competence.
Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA
