Federal crypto crackdown targets B.C. companies with foreign directors
theBreaker.news analyzed registrations of 2021-incorporated money services businesses.
Two of the British Columbia money services businesses (MSB) deregistered by Canada’s anti-money laundering agency on March 16 have addresses in the same Richmond complex that once housed a notorious underground bank.
Filings with the B.C. government show that Gleec Pay Ltd. and Xward Pay Inc. list a shared office space on the third floor of the south tower at 5811 Cooney Road. Silver International, busted by police investigating casino money laundering, was located in the north tower.
Gleec, Xward and nine other B.C. companies have 30 days to ask the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) for a review.
Minister of Finance François-Philippe Champagne announced a total 23 revocations on the same day. While the reasons were not disclosed, Champagne emphasized the “risks posed by virtual currency business, such as cryptocurrency MSBs and crypto ATMs, which can be used to facilitate money laundering and fraud.”
Generally, FINTRAC says it has the power to revoke a registration if an MSB fails to assist or answer a clarification request or otherwise fails to respond in a timely manner to a FINTRAC demand for information.
B.C. registered, directed elsewhere
All but one of the B.C. MSBs was incorporated in 2021 and the principals are from offshore jurisdictions.
Gleec is registered to offer foreign exchange, money transferring and virtual currency and was originally known as Finast Pay Ltd. when Janis Goba incorporated the company. Jessica Yesenia Cepeda Riviera of Madrid, Spain was the sole director until Petr Agular of Haje in the Czech Republic took over on March 16, 2023.
Xward’s original office was at 422 Richards Street in Vancouver’s Yaletown and incorporated by Federico Lauzzana of Tartu, Estonia. M. Farhad Rahimov of London, U.K. was a director from June 2022 to April 2023. Giovanni Sanna of London joined in March 2023, replaced in November 2024 by Francesco Simbolotti of Rome.
More Richmond links
Two other companies list the Richmond law office of Stuart Moir as their registered office.
Target Pay’s director is Mikheil Gvilia of Tblisi, Georgia.
Directors of Omnipay, as of its last-filed annual report in 2024, were Vladimirs Saveljevs, of Jurmala, Latvia and Dmytro Kostin of Limassol, Cyprus. The original director was Levani Patsatsia of Zugdidi, Georgia.
Crypto Cypriots
A22 Industry Ltd., Vancouver was originally called Payer Finance Ltd. when incorporated by Ihor Balkovyi of Kyiv, Ukraine with original director Maris Melbardis of Riga, Latvia.
Now registered to 422 Richards, a succession of Cypriots have been listed as directors: Maria Fatsita and Markos Hadjiminas of Nicosia and Ioannis Papacharalampous of Limassol and Alexandrou Panayiotis Nicholas of Famagusta.
Melon Technologies Ltd. of Vancouver started as Whitepay Finance Inc. with a Kelowna address and a director from Kyiv, Ukraine, Oleksandra Matviienko.
The CEO is now Kelechi John Ekuma, Warrington, U.K., who teaches at the University of Manchester. Vice-president is Derek Chibueze Obasi of Montreal and Olaide Adedeji-Fatolu of Vancouver the secretary.
Capital city
Magnetron Payments Ltd. started near Saanich Centre, but now lists an address near Guildford Town Centre in Surrey.
Incorporated by Mikhail Vitkovskii of Moscow, the first director was another Russian, Igor Koveshnikov. By the start of November 2024, Christos Philippou of Nicosia, Cyprus was listed as president.
The address for PSTNet Finance Corp. is in a Victoria building where Canada Border Services Agency has offices. It opened as Tangerine Payments Corp. under director Metin Altunay, but changed its name in April 2023. In March 2024, director/CEO Vitali Cilcic of Cazaclia, Moldova took over.
The law
Under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, MSBs must implement compliance programs and verify clients’ identities.
The June 2022 final report of B.C.’s Cullen Commission into money laundering said: “It is widely recognized that there are significant money laundering vulnerabilities associated with MSBs. They are frequently associated with professional money launderers and informal value transfer systems.”
Less than a year later, the B.C. NDP government passed the Money Services Business Act. It would require MSBs to register with the B.C. Financial Services Authority, undergo background checks and file annual reports.