Worldpay Faces Trial in Paris Over Alleged Complicity in Forex Trading Scam
Paris, March 9 – The trial of global payment giant Worldpay, accused of complicity in the illegal operation of a payment service provider in connection with a trading scam that took place between 2011 and 2014, commenced Monday at the Paris courthouse.
The unique aspect of this case lies in the presence of the payment service provider in the dock alongside individuals allegedly responsible for the fraud, who are spread across France and Israel. Dozens of savers lost tens of millions of euros in the scheme.
Victims Lured by Promises of High Returns
Recruited online and contacted by phone with promises of astronomical returns, the victims believed they were investing in the foreign exchange (Forex) market. However, their savings evaporated as the money was diverted to a myriad of bank accounts across the globe, from the Seychelles to Ukraine. The total loss is estimated at least 35 million euros.
After more than a decade of judicial investigation, eleven defendants – nine individuals and two companies, including Worldpay – were initially referred to the criminal court last year. Out of this total, five defendants, including the Dutch company Seroph, which was linked to the fictitious companies and used Worldpay’s payment infrastructure, accepted a plea bargain (CRPC) in January.
Only Worldpay, which transferred 16.82 million euros to Seroph in this case, and one other defendant were present on the defense side at the opening of the trial on Monday.
Worldpay Accused of Turning a Blind Eye
The court accuses Worldpay of ignoring the actions of the alleged fraudsters, even though their websites, such as “www.investcapitalmarkets.com” and “BForex,” were listed on a blacklist published by the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF).
“As an experienced professional in the sector,” Worldpay “could not simply be satisfied with the oral and undocumented affirmation of its partner (Seroph) that the regulations did not apply to it” and did not implement “due diligence procedures with regard to its client,” the investigating judges stated when referring the company to trial last July.
For the dozens of victims, ruined retirees or students who squandered their loans in the affair, the referral of a multinational company to justice offers hope of recovering some of their losses. In this type of internet scam, fraudsters, even if convicted, often remain insolvent.
Worldpay Representative to Be Questioned
The representative of Worldpay, a company that claims 55 billion transactions per year and a presence in 174 countries on its website, will be questioned by the criminal court on Tuesday.
Source: https://fr.tradingview.com/news/afp:00e8c3393c3ba:0/
