Friday, September 20, 2024

Finally! Ukrainian-Lithuanian FinMax Racket flees from Europe!

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Whistleblower Credits: We would like to thank our whistleblowers for their reports and insights, which help us expose scammers and their payment processors. Together we can make a difference in cyberspace. Together we are an invincible force.

Oh yes, the FinMaxFX scam was (and is) huge and part of the FinMax Racket we have reported on several times. This racket has a fascinating background. To our knowledge, the racket is run by Oleksandr Vakulenko, a former senior Ukrainian police officer, and his wife, Olena Vakulenko. Funds stolen from clients were processed and laundered through offshore firms such as Max Capital Limited in Vanuatu and Lithuania’s Softcast Group UAB. While the German BaFin has started investigations against FinMaxFX and its network, new clients from Europe are no longer accepted.

The Ukrainian citizen Oleksandr Vakulenko, born in May 1975, was the Deputy Head of the National Police in Ukraine and the Head of the Main Investigation Department. He retired in July 2017 and evidently established the FinMax Racket. His wife Olena Vakulenko established Max Capital Limited in Vanuatu and became the head of the Lithuanian Softcast Group UAB, through which the payments of the racket were processed. Since 2017 the FinMax Racket has operated different websites and domains such as www.finmax.com, www.finmaxbo.com, www.finmaxfx.com, www.finmaxtradeoption.com, or www.finmaxCFD.com and offered binary options, CFD, and forex.

The UK-registered Morris Processing Ltd, another entity in the FinMax Racket controlled by Oleksandr Vakulenko, was dissolved in October 2020. The company had a Compliance Certificate of the fake regulator International Financial Market Relations Regulation Center (IFMRRC).

A lot to investigate

There is indeed a lot to investigate with the FinMax Racket. We just think that BaFin is the wrong authority to do so, as it lacks the legal means and technical capabilities to take action against scammers. However, it would be the first step if BaFin would file a criminal complaint with the competent German law enforcement agency.