ContinentPay Under Scrutiny for Alleged Connections to Gery Shalon
ContinentPay, a high-risk payment processor, is being investigated by us for its alleged connections to Gery Shalon, a notorious cybercriminal linked to major cyberattacks on the U.S. financial sector. Shalon is believed to control ContinentPay through MARKET PROMO Sp. z o.o., a Polish company. ContinentPay is reported to process transactions for illegal online gambling sites, including Atlantis Slots, which operates unlawfully in Europe. These activities raise significant legal and compliance concerns, highlighting the need for regulatory intervention.
Background on Gery Shalon
Gery Shalon was arrested in Israel in 2015 and subsequently extradited to the United States. In November 2015, U.S. authorities charged him with organizing extensive cyberattacks on U.S. financial institutions, brokerage firms, and a major news agency. These attacks were unprecedented in scale and impact, resulting in massive data breaches and significant financial losses.
After his confession and the confiscation of over $400 million by U.S. authorities, Shalon returned to Israel in 2022/23. Since then, he has reportedly developed online casino and gambling activities within the OX Gaming group. Our information suggests that he also controls Continent Pay, a high-risk payment processor operated by MARKET PROMO Sp. z o.o., based in Warsaw, Poland.
Continent Pay’s Operations
Our review indicates that ContinentPay is a player in the high-risk payment processing sector, with nearly 470,000 monthly visitors to its website. According to Similarweb data, almost all visitors are redirected from online gambling sites. Notably, the online casino Atlantis Slots, operated by Pennytech Holding B.V. and licensed in Curaçao, has been identified as the top referrer of traffic to the ContinentPaywebsite in the past 28 days.
Further investigation revealed that customer deposits for Atlantis Slots are processed via Continent Pay using various methods, including debit/credit cards and Binance Pay. UAB Criptomy (company data) is listed as the merchant for Binance Pay transactions, with Mariana Achim registered as the managing director. FinTelegram will do a separate review of Atlantis Slots and related gambling schemes.
Legal and Compliance Concerns
Atlantis Slots is operating illegally in Europe and other jurisdictions, as the Curaçao license does not permit services in the EEA regions. Letovio Holding Ltd., based in Limassol, Cyprus, facilitating these transactions raises significant legal and compliance issues. It appears that Letovio Holding is receiving illegally obtained funds from EEA players into an EU bank account.