Originally Syndicated on September 17, 2024 @ 11:44 pm
What Happened?
Royal Pay Europe, a financial services provider once seen as an innovative force in the payment processing industry, now faces growing scrutiny over its alleged involvement in unethical practices. Recent reports have surfaced, revealing questionable activities linked to the company, including financial fraud, regulatory violations, and associations with illicit networks. As a result, Royal Pay Europe has been actively trying to suppress damaging news and control its online narrative.
According to a report by Linenet , Royal Pay Europe and its affiliates, including Sergey Kondratenko, have been involved in efforts to evade regulatory scrutiny through the manipulation of Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, raising further suspicions about the company’s compliance with financial laws. Investigative journalists and whistleblowers have claimed that the company has deployed aggressive tactics to censor critical media coverage, using reputation management services, legal threats, and even fake positive content to overshadow reports of its shady past.
Despite these efforts, the truth surrounding Royal Pay Europe’s controversial dealings continues to emerge, raising concerns about the integrity of the company and its impact on the broader financial industry.
Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)
Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.
To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.
FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.
Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.
By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Royal Pay Europe and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…
List of Fake Copyright Notices for Royal Pay Europe
Evidence and Screenshots
Only Royal Pay Europe Benefit from this crime.
Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Royal Pay Europe from Google, we assume Royal Pay Europe or someone associated with Royal Pay Europe is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Royal Pay Europe. In this case, Royal Pay Europe, at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.
So, who tf is Royal Pay Europe?
Royal Pay Europe is a financial services provider specializing in payment processing and financial technology solutions. It operates in the digital payments sector, offering services to businesses and consumers across various markets. While the company initially gained recognition for its fintech capabilities, it has come under significant scrutiny due to alleged unethical practices. Royal Pay Europe’s activities are now linked to accusations of financial misconduct, regulatory violations, and involvement with questionable entities.
Why Is Royal Pay Europe Trying to Censor the Internet?
Royal Pay Europe is reportedly attempting to censor the internet to protect its reputation and prevent further exposure of its controversial and potentially illegal activities. The company has been linked to a series of damaging allegations, ranging from regulatory violations to connections with individuals involved in financial fraud, such as Sergey Kondratenko, a figure mentioned in reports detailing Royal Pay Europe’s questionable business operations .
The company is believed to be engaging in online reputation management efforts to suppress negative press, including articles and reviews that expose its shady past. By using tactics such as manipulating search engine results, employing reputation management firms, and issuing legal threats, Royal Pay Europe aims to bury critical information and maintain a positive public image. However, investigative journalists and whistleblowers have continued to reveal new details, making it difficult for the company to fully hide its past.
Major Concerns, Complaints, and Accusations Against Royal Pay Europe
The company’s efforts to censor damaging information are linked to a number of significant concerns and accusations:
1. Financial Fraud and Regulatory Violations
Royal Pay Europe has faced accusations of engaging in financial fraud, including mishandling client funds and facilitating transactions without adhering to regulatory requirements. According to the Linenet report , the company is involved in efforts to bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, which are crucial for preventing money laundering and other illegal financial activities.
- KYC Manipulation: Royal Pay Europe and its affiliates, including Sergey Kondratenko, have been accused of manipulating KYC processes to avoid regulatory scrutiny. This raises concerns about the company’s involvement in potentially illicit transactions, as KYC rules are designed to prevent illegal money flows.
- Regulatory non-compliance: Investigations have highlighted Royal Pay Europe’s potential failure to comply with financial regulations, further increasing the suspicion surrounding its operations.
2. Ties to Sergey Kondratenko
Sergey Kondratenko, a figure reportedly linked to Royal Pay Europe, has been connected to allegations of financial misconduct and questionable business practices. The connection between Royal Pay Europe and Kondratenko has raised red flags, as his name has surfaced in reports detailing fraud, money laundering, and manipulation of regulatory processes .
- Shady business dealings: Kondratenko’s involvement has amplified concerns that Royal Pay Europe is engaged in unethical or illegal financial activities, further fueling speculation that the company is trying to suppress information that would implicate its leadership and affiliates.
3. Money Laundering Allegations
There are allegations that Royal Pay Europe has been used as a platform for money laundering. The company’s alleged manipulation of KYC processes makes it easier for illicit funds to be funneled through its payment system without detection by authorities, raising significant concerns about its role in facilitating illegal financial activities.
- Offshore transactions: Royal Pay Europe has been linked to suspicious offshore financial activities, which are often used to launder money or evade taxes, compounding the company’s legal and ethical challenges.
4. Negative Customer Reviews and Complaints
The company has also received negative feedback from customers and business partners who have raised concerns about the transparency and reliability of its services. These complaints include allegations of poor customer support, delayed payments, and hidden fees, which have tarnished the company’s reputation in the financial services market.
- Customer service issues: Clients have reported difficulties in resolving issues with the company’s services, such as unexpected delays in transactions and a lack of communication from customer support teams.
5. Reputation Management and Censorship Attempts
Royal Pay Europe has been accused of deploying aggressive reputation management tactics to suppress damaging information. The company has reportedly engaged in SEO manipulation, legal intimidation, and the use of fake positive content to push critical articles out of public view. These efforts have drawn further scrutiny, as they highlight the lengths to which the company will go to hide its controversial activities.
- Legal threats: Some reports suggest that Royal Pay Europe has used legal pressure to silence journalists and bloggers who have written critically about the company, further raising concerns about transparency and accountability.
Royal Pay Europe’s efforts to censor the internet and suppress damaging news are driven by serious concerns regarding its involvement in financial fraud, regulatory violations, and connections to questionable figures like Sergey Kondratenko. The company’s attempts to manipulate its online presence highlight broader issues of transparency in the financial industry, where companies can potentially use their resources to hide unethical or illegal activities from the public and regulators .
Potential Consequences for Royal Pay Europe
Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.
Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.
Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.” Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).
Is Royal Pay Europe Committing a Cyber Crime?
Yes, it seems so. Royal Pay Europe used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Royal Pay Europe could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.
Faced with these limitations, some companies like Royal Pay Europe have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.
Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Royal Pay Europe is certainly keeping interesting company here….
The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.
Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.
What was Royal Pay Europe trying to hide?
Royal Pay Europe is reportedly trying to hide a variety of adverse news, complaints, and allegations tied to questionable activities and business dealings, particularly those involving financial fraud, regulatory violations, and connections to dubious entities. The company has engaged in efforts to censor online content that sheds light on these allegations, using reputation management tactics and legal threats to suppress damaging information. Here’s a summary of the key issues Royal Pay Europe appears to be trying to keep hidden:
1. Ties to Sergey Kondratenko and Regulatory Violations
As referenced in the Linenet report, Royal Pay Europe has been linked to Sergey Kondratenko, a figure accused of financial misconduct and shady business practices. Kondratenko has been connected to attempts to bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, which are designed to prevent money laundering and other illicit financial activities. The allegations suggest that Royal Pay Europe may have facilitated the manipulation of these KYC procedures to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
- KYC non-compliance: The company has been accused of failing to adhere to KYC regulations, which could enable money laundering or fraudulent transactions. These allegations have drawn the attention of financial regulators concerned about Royal Pay Europe’s role in facilitating potentially illegal activities.
2. Connections to Russian 1xBet and Sanctions
According to reports from Ukrainian News, Royal Pay Europe has been linked to 1xBet, a Russian gambling platform that has faced international scrutiny for its alleged involvement in illegal activities and ties to Russian oligarchs. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently imposed sanctions on a partner company of 1xBet, suggesting that entities connected to Royal Pay Europe may have business dealings that are now under significant legal and regulatory pressure.
- Sanctioned partnerships: The connections between Royal Pay Europe and entities under sanctions, such as 1xBet, have raised concerns about the company’s business practices and its involvement in politically sensitive or ethically dubious activities.
3. Money Laundering Allegations
One of the most significant accusations against Royal Pay Europe is its alleged involvement in money laundering. The manipulation of KYC processes, as described in the Linenet report, could enable the company to launder illicit funds by concealing the identities of individuals or entities behind large transactions.
- Offshore transactions: Royal Pay Europe has been linked to offshore financial activities that may be designed to evade taxation or legal oversight. These offshore dealings are often red flags for money laundering operations, and the company’s involvement in such activities is a major concern for regulators.
4. Negative Reviews and Customer Complaints
Royal Pay Europe has received multiple complaints from customers and business partners, particularly related to poor service, delayed payments, and hidden fees. Customers have reported frustrations with the company’s lack of transparency and inadequate support.
- Service complaints: Reviews and complaints suggest that Royal Pay Europe’s payment processing services are unreliable, with some customers experiencing long delays in receiving payments or unexpected fees. These negative experiences have damaged the company’s reputation in the financial services industry.
5. Legal Challenges and Reputation Management Efforts
In an attempt to control its online image, Royal Pay Europe has reportedly hired reputation management firms and used legal threats to suppress damaging content. The company has attempted to remove or bury critical articles, bad reviews, and investigative reports that expose its questionable business dealings.
- Legal intimidation: There are reports that Royal Pay Europe has issued legal threats to journalists, bloggers, and platforms that publish negative information about the company. This censorship effort has drawn criticism for undermining transparency and suppressing public access to important information.
6. Whistleblower Testimonies and Internal Documents
Insiders and former employees have reportedly provided evidence of unethical practices within Royal Pay Europe, further fueling concerns about the company’s business ethics. These whistleblowers may have shared internal documents that reveal financial irregularities, regulatory violations, or mismanagement.
- Whistleblower allegations: Testimonies from former employees have highlighted internal practices that may be illegal or unethical, particularly in how the company handles regulatory compliance and customer funds.
Royal Pay Europe is actively trying to hide a wide range of damaging news and allegations related to its business practices, financial activities, and regulatory compliance. These include its ties to Sergey Kondratenko, alleged money laundering, connections to the Russian gambling platform 1xBet, and numerous customer complaints. By employing reputation management strategies and legal threats, the company is attempting to censor this information and control its online presence. However, the persistence of investigative journalists and regulatory scrutiny continues to bring Royal Pay Europe’s shady past into the spotlight.
Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi
The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.
Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.
How did Royal Pay Europe purport this DMCA Fraud?
As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Royal Pay Europe creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.
The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.
The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.
In committing numerous offences, Royal Pay Europe either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Royal Pay Europe, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.
The Reputation Laundering
Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.
The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.
In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.
This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.
Not In Good Company
Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Royal Pay Europe is in great company ….
Ironically, the manipulation tactics used to remove public-interest information from the Internet are backfiring on Royal Pay Europe, which is now associated with the worst of this world.
Here are some of the specimens that share the internet space with Royal Pay Europe –
Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado
Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado appears to be the former foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic. His name is listed next to more than 500 links to news articles, blogs, social media posts, and YouTube videos targeted for removal or de-indexing. Many of the articles refer to questions over his political fundraising practices. They include accusations that Vargas had received donations from an individual who would later be convicted of drug trafficking. Some targeted links remain active, while others return 404 errors or “file not found.”
José Antonio Gordo Valero
José Gordo joined OneCoin in 2015 and has been named in an indictment for the OneCoin scam in Argentina. The articles listed next to Gordo’s name in the documents reviewed by Rest of World include references to his role at the company.
Diego Adolfo Marynberg
He appears to be the same Marynberg connected to funding right-wing causes, including settlement efforts in Israel. Reports also alleged that his company received preferential treatment in acquiring Argentinian bonds worth millions of dollars. More than 70 URLs appear next to Marynberg’s name in the documents, including pages from the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel, Haaretz, and Clarin, one of Argentina’s most prominent news sites.
Majed Khalil Majzoub
Majed is an influential businessman with close ties to several governments, including the administration of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Majzoub’s name appears next to more than 180 URLs, mostly from independent outlets. Of the two URLs that pointed to articles from Germany’s Der Spiegel, one now returns an error message; the other, which appears to refer to relations between Venezuela and Colombia, directs to an unrelated story about Brexit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Royal Pay Europe commit a cyber crime?
Yes, filing a fake DMCA notice is illegal. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows copyright holders to issue takedown notices to protect their works from unauthorized use online. However, submitting a false DMCA notice can result in legal consequences.
Under the DMCA, a person knowingly submitting a false copyright claim can be subject to penalties, including damages. DMCA notices require the filer to certify, under penalty of perjury, that the content infringes their copyright. If the notice is found to be fraudulent or made in bad faith, the filer can face.
What are the potential consequences for Royal Pay Europe?
Civil lawsuits: The affected party can sue for damages, legal fees, and other costs.
Perjury charges: False certification in a DMCA notice can result in perjury-related penalties, which vary by jurisdiction.
Other legal penalties: Fines or other penalties depending on the case
Did Royal Pay Europe commit a Civil or a Criminal offense?
Perjury is a criminal offense, not a civil crime. It involves intentionally lying or making false statements under oath, typically in a court of law or other legal proceedings, such as affidavits or depositions.
Criminal charges: Perjury is prosecuted as a criminal act, and a conviction can lead to fines or imprisonment, depending on the severity of the false statement and its impact on the case.
Felony status: In many jurisdictions, perjury is classified as a felony, which carries more severe penalties than misdemeanour offences.
So, while it may affect civil cases, the crime of perjury itself is strictly criminal.
What is the Streisand effect?
The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms.
Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible.
Can Royal Pay Europe purge its Digital past?
Once information is uploaded to the internet, it can be replicated, shared, archived, or stored across multiple servers. If Royal Pay Europe manage to delete the original post or file, copies may remain accessible in other places, such as web archives, screenshots, or other users’ devices.
In practice, completely erasing content from the internet can be extremely difficult due to how widely information can spread and be stored. Thus, the idea that “the Internet never forgets” reflects the challenge of entirely removing digital content once it has been shared.
What is our next move?
Critical Intel will, in its capacity, do all it can to hold someone responsible for this incident. Here is what we are preparing for –
Since Royal Pay Europe made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and our original review of Royal Pay Europe, including but not limited to user contributions, remain a permanent record for anyone interested in Royal Pay Europe.
A case perfect for the Streisand effect…
What else is Royal Pay Europe hiding?
Click here to visit the Google Search page for ‘Royal Pay Europe’. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)
To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with us. If you have any information on Royal Pay Europe that you want to share with us, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].
All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.
References and Citations Used
Over thirty thousand DMCA notices reveal an organized attempt to abuse copyright law.
Reputation Management, or Internet Conspiracy
Exposed documents reveal how the powerful cleaned up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm.
Companies Use Fake Websites and Backdated Articles to Censor Google’s Search Results.
Bad Reviews: How Companies Are Using Fake Websites to Censor Content
How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists
Many thanks to FakeDMCA.com and Lumen for providing access to their database.
Photos and Illustrations provided by DALL-E 3 – “a representation of Royal Pay Europe censoring the internet and committing cyber crimes.”
- Our investigative report on Royal Pay Europe’s efforts to suppress online speech is significant, as it raises serious concerns about its integrity. The findings suggest that Royal Pay Europe has engaged in questionable practices, including potential perjury, impersonation, and fraud, in a misguided attempt to manage or salvage its reputation.
- We intend to file a counternotice to reinstate the removed article(s). While this particular instance is relatively straightforward, it is important to note that, in other cases, the overwhelming volume of automated DMCA takedown notices can significantly hinder the ability of affected parties to respond—especially for those not large media organizations.
- You need an account with fakeDMCA.com and Lumen to access the research data. However, accounts are not widely available since these non-profit organisations manage large databases that could be susceptible to misuse. Nevertheless, they do offer access to non-profits and researchers.
- It’s unclear why U.S. authorities have yet to act against these rogue reputation agencies, whose business model seems rooted in fraudulent practices.
- We’ve reached out to Royal Pay Europe for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.
About the Author
The author is affiliated with Harvard University and serves as a researcher at both Lumen and FakeDMCA.com. In his personal capacity, he and his team have been actively investigating and reporting on organized crime related to fraudulent copyright takedown schemes. Additionally, his team provides advisory services to major law firms and is frequently consulted on matters pertaining to intellectual property law. He can be reached at [email protected] directly.
