We have discovered Solarisbank as a payment processor in major broker scams such as Daxiron or BitCenter. Up until today, large cybercrime organizations use Solarisbank as scam-facilitating payment processors. Scam victims reported that they have transferred sometimes large sums to bank accounts of the scammers at Solarisbank. German BaFin informed Solarisbank that it is now being under scrutiny by a special auditor due to serious compliance and money laundering issues. After N26, Solarisbank is the second German fintech to have special supervisors appointed by BaFin.
Germany’s WirtschaftsWoche also reported that cybercriminals conduct their illegal business through Solarisbank. “Now criminals love this bank too,” the magazine headlines, describing how victims of scams process deposits through Solarisbank. This coincides with FinTelegram’s findings. Up until today, the Bitcenter (https://bit-center.pro) broker and crypto scam asks victims to make bank deposits to their bank account at Solarisbank (IBAN DE41110101015217194419). Bitcenter is part of a vast global scam network.
BaFin is allegedly sending an expert of the auditing firm PwC to Solarisbank as a special auditor, Handelsblatt reports. The reason is said to be a 2020 BaFin audit that found compliance and money laundering issues. The official BaFin letter appointing PwC as auditor has purportedly been received by Solarisbank.
The head of Solarisbank, Roland Folz, said that he would welcome the Bafin move as they had no secrets, the Handelsblatt reported. Solarisbank has grown strongly since it was founded in 2016. In 2021, the bank opened one million new online accounts. The strong growth is apparently causing BaFin concern. Justified, in our opinion.
