Question about Gambling websites with Curaçao license using incorrect Merchant Category code (strana 333)

Can we connect over a call? Im conscious of positing on here too much. My email is rav12@hotmail.co.uk

Don’t know if you got my last message but we’re clearly in the same boat here and I don’t wanna post too much on here. Let’s arrange a call? Over Skype or teams? My email is rav12@hotmail.co.uk

They won’t because they simply could not know that it is a gambling relatee transaction. Thats the whole issue and why this topic exists. Many casinos are using payment processors with other names and codes to avoid gambling transactions which can be blocked by banks and have higher fees/risks.

Good luck but dont expect much from it. These cases have more chances with court but maybe I am wrong.

I really don’t but it’s completely and utterly wrong for UK banks to allow this.

we have strict procedures within UK jurisdiction

Ljudi, da li neko zna za bajt vesti?

What casino did you deal with under Santeda's umbrella, also what was the merchant that showed up on your transactions? I got nikotpf, and how did you find out it was Modulr who hosts their accounts?

It was all via bank transfer, so I just ended up doing a bank account check today using sort code and account number and found them that way. They accept 0 responsibility hahah bastards. It’s between me and santeda who I don’t have a bloody contact address for. Im still reporting them to the ombudsman, and will report the inconsistencies and lack of AML by Modulr to the FOS

also, I really need a copy of Santedas license as I understand they don’t have one at all even for Curacao. Someone posted it expired on this site and I am please begging someone to share it!!!

They have since renewed it, i believe around the 14th of August but it's a Curacao license, they were still operating whilst it was "pending" in their words though, so basically unregulated and unlicensed.

Got anything you can share to prove it?

This is ridiculous:

this is what I said to Modulr

I am re-including all parties (and a few more) in CC until this matter is fully resolved and I have received an appropriate update and outcome.

Following a meeting with my solicitor this afternoon, I was informed that your terms and conditions explicitly prohibit the use of accounts for illegal activities, such as gambling facilitated by companies registered in jurisdictions like Curacao that lack the appropriate licensing. Santeda, in particular, has a documented history of non-compliance, including significant fines for money laundering (AML) failures and poor regulatory practices. The use of your services to process such transactions raises serious concerns about potential breaches of AML obligations, which require robust checks to prevent illegal financial activity.

As a registered participant with GAMSTOP, I should legally have been prevented from accessing any gambling services. This failure to enforce exclusion safeguards constitutes a breach of the intended protections provided by GAMSTOP and UK gambling regulations. Such activity should not have been allowed to occur under any circumstances, and this raises significant concerns about your compliance with regulatory obligations.

Furthermore, this situation bears similarities to the issues uncovered during the Wirecard scandal, where lapses in oversight and inadequate due diligence allowed significant fraudulent activity to persist. As a regulated entity, you are expected to have stringent measures in place to prevent your services from being exploited in such a manner, I mean in your eyes this money probably never existed, right?

My solicitor has strongly advised me to report Andreas Andreou and his team to Action Fraud and the National Crime Agency (NCA), ensuring that they are flagged and prohibited from engaging with UK government or regulatory frameworks in the future. Additionally, I am being urged to escalate this matter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Action Fraud (where I already have an open case), and the Financial Ombudsman.

As you are aware, this situation has already resulted in criminal proceedings against me for the £75,000+ deposited through your services. My sole intention is to resolve this matter, pay my debts, and move on with my life.

To that end, I am willing to reach an amicable agreement regarding a settlement figure without the involvement of external authorities. However, should this issue remain unresolved, I will have no choice but to proceed with formal complaints and legal action.

Please confirm receipt of this email and provide your response within 5 business days.

this is my solicitor fyi

I kept cc’ing all of their colleagues and they got pissed 😂😂

Thank you for your follow-up e-mail. We did send a response to you just one minute before you sent your follow-up so I believe you may not have had a chance to read this yet, I will re-iterate some of the points here. Please also note that I am removing some of the additional contacts you had in cc here but to demonstrate that we are taking this seriously I have kept relevant senior management contacts in, including our COO, as they are aware and keen to stay abreast of this case (this has been discussed at the highest level in our organisation). 

Firstly, we are deeply sorry for the struggles you have faced with gambling and the impact this has had on your mental health. We do appreciate the toll this would take and the situation that you find yourself in. 

In relation to the points you have raised around the use of said casinos, we wish to provide a response based on Modulr's standing and policies and hopefully provide additional context. We do not mean this to downplay your circumstances but want to also ensure we provide a clear response to the points raised in your e-mail. 

Modulr is an Electronic Money Institution, our role as an EMI is to facilitate payments, but we are not responsible for the terms of service or operations of our customers’ businesses. As a regulated financial institution, we are responsible for identifying and stopping financial crime and we have robust controls in place to do so. However, Modulr is not liable for any losses incurred from your use of our customers’ services. This includes any losses you incurred during your participation in any online gambling services provided by the customers. 

It would be inappropriate for us to further engage in any discussion regarding our customers and our relationship or details of any operations with said customers. 

That being said, we have reviewed all the points you raised. After said review, there is nothing here that would constitute a valid claim against Modulr. We would recommend that you continue to pursue this matter with the gambling businesses in question, and your bank, who may be able to support you further.  

I understand that this may not be the outcome you were looking for, however I hope that this explanation can provide further insight into matters and the position Modulr takes on this matter. 

In the meantime, I have provided our complaint policy below, which outlines how we handle situations such as this and the timeframes for resolution/response. Please accept this email as our acknowledgement and resolution of your complaint, based upon the further context shared. 

​

Our commitment to you 

At Modulr each of our customers is important to us, and we believe you have the right to a fair, swift and courteous service at all times. 

We consider a complaint to be any expression of dissatisfaction, whether oral or written, and whether justified or not, from or on behalf of an eligible complainant about the firm’s provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service. 

We are in receipt of your complaint, and we will deal with it promptly, effectively and in a positive manner in line with our complaint procedure detailed below. 

Modulr Complaints Procedure 

Just screams bullshit to me

Responsibilities of Modulr FS:

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) Obligations:

Modulr FS is required to conduct thorough due diligence on the businesses it works with to ensure they comply with legal and regulatory requirements. If they knowingly process payments for unlicensed gambling operators offering services to UK customers, they could be in breach of their AML obligations.

Sorry what?

Sox been replying to the wrong person lol

It's on the Curacao gaming license website

https://www.gamingcontrolcuracao.org/en/133i348441001

page 10 of this PDF

https://gamingcontrol.spin-cdn.com/media/license_registry/20241219_241218_online_gaming_register.pdf

CC'ing their colleagues?

Well they would be required to gather information on people using their services, they're going down the plausible deniability route here but as an FCA approved provider, they have legal obligations they must fulfill, if a crime has been committed using their services i'd imagine they'd be legally found to be complicit if they haven't done their due diligence, or if they can't prove they have plausible deniability. or if they have been contacted about such issues and refused to investigate and continue to provide the services afterward.

On the plausible deniability point, if they go down that route it could be a double edged sword as they might reveal themselves to be undertaking negligent practices which i'm sure would be a legal infraction against FCA regulations.

This is really interesting how Spain have the powers to fine Santeda but the UKGC can’t:

https://focusgn.com/spain-fines-against-online-gambling-hit-e71m-in-q1

Also, from Sweden, not related to fines but actually their regulatory body banning transactions to these unlicensed gambling businesses from Swedish bank accounts:

https://paymentexpert.com/2024/06/18/swedens-illegal-skin-gambling/?amp

Although I don’t understand the ‘skin gambling’ in the context of Santeda’s operations. Would this be them accepting cryptocurrency or something different?

I can’t help feeling very let down as a UK consumer when I read these articles.