Busting Big Business with Dirty Partners: How Payone's Alleged Collusion with Adult Site Operators Puts It in the Firing Line
Accusations leveled against payment facility provider Payone - Accusations Filed Against Payone: Likely Legal Proceedings Pending
Hey, let's dive into this juicy gossip about Payone, the payment service provider that seems to have its fingers in some questionable pies
Payone, the digital payment specialist, is facing some nasty accusations due to its dealings with providers of sleazy dating and adult content sites. According to reports by "Der Spiegel" and an international team of researchers, Payone has been blindly working with shady business partners and disregarding the law on anti-money laundering for years.
Based in the heart of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Payone processes payments for over 277,000 customers across the nation and Austria. With the German Sparkassen Verlag (DSV) owning 40%, and the French Worldline securing the majority 60%, this payment service provider doesn't mess around - they handle 5.4 billion transactions each year.
After an intervention by Germany's financial watchdog Bafin in the scorching summer of 2023, Payone is said to have disconnected from hundreds of shady clients. But internal documents suggest that transactions from these partners are still being processed via another Worldline subsidiary – a sister company of Payone.
When confronted about these allegations, Payone's spokesperson claimed the company had axed the shady business following Bafin's intervention. The Payone GmbH had swiftly taken action to terminate its partnerships with both the clients and the operators active in Germany. The company bolstered its internal controls to ensure there would be no repeat of such transactions with high-risk clients in the future.
In a statement to reporters, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) had barred Payone from processing transactions for certain business clients due to a high money laundering risk and glaring deficiencies in anti-money laundering prevention on July 26, 2023. Bafin was determined to prevent Payone from being "used as a money laundering facilitator."
Payone's majority shareholder, Worldline, also addressed the situation, stating they had tightened their guidelines in 2023 to ensure compliance with all laws and regulations. Non-compliant business relationships have been tossed out the window, and the company vowed to swiftly investigate and terminate client relationships if there were any hints of wrongdoing.
Some interesting tidbits about the partnerships Payone kept with these questionable companies:
- Payone had entered into agreements with several Swiss firms managing x-rated dating and infidelity platforms connected to Ray Akhavan, the infamous "porn baron" who passed away in fall 2024 due to a drug overdose. Akhavan's network stretched across thousands of sex sites.
- Wirecard, another financial services titan that faced its fair share of scandals, previously collaborated with these shady companies. Jan Marsalek, a former Wirecard exec, even maintained a warm correspondence with the criminal Akhavan.
- Ruben Weigand, one of the masterminds involved, asserted he had steered clients to Payone, and the clients seemed legit based on Payone's guidelines at the time. Things took a turn, though, as Payone later cut ties with all clients introduced by Weigand and his brother in April 2021.
Bafin continues its investigations into Payone, looking into the company's compliance with anti-money laundering and financial regulations standards. The eyes of the world are on Payone, as these investigations are part of the larger story of how financial service providers handle high-risk clients and whether regulatory oversight has been sufficient.
In brief, Payone seems to be in deep water for its allegedly incestuous business partnerships with companies tied to Ray Akhavan's adult entertainment empire. Despite initially downplaying the accusations, Payone eventually parted ways with these clients under mounting pressure and evidence pointing to shady activities linked to these platforms.
Payone's community policy could potentially be under review due to the allegations of business partnerships with adult content site operators, raising questions about its commitment to financial and regulatory compliance in vocational training and business practices.
In light of the ongoing investigations by Bafin and international researchers, the financial future of Payone hinges on demonstrating greater diligence in vocational training and adherence to anti-money laundering regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future.
