Caio Marchesani

A summary of what happened?

Caio Marchesani is an Italian national and the owner of Trans-Fast Remittance Ltd, a London-based payments business regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). He has been accused of facilitating extensive money laundering operations for notorious criminals through cryptocurrency platforms.

Major Concerns and Allegations:

1. Money Laundering for Criminal Syndicates:
   • Belgian authorities allege that Marchesani managed substantial cryptocurrency transactions for criminal organizations, including those led by Flor Bressers, known as the “finger cutter,” and Sergio Roberto De Carvalho, dubbed the “Brazilian Pablo Escobar.” These transactions reportedly involved converting large sums of illicit cash into cryptocurrency to obscure the funds’ origins.
2. Use of Cryptocurrency Platforms:
   • Investigations suggest that Marchesani utilized multiple accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Binance, to facilitate these laundering activities. He allegedly charged high fees for converting cash into crypto assets, enabling the transfer of illicit funds across borders with reduced detection risk.
3. Legal Proceedings and Extradition:
   • In May 2023, Marchesani was arrested at Heathrow Airport. Subsequently, a UK court approved his extradition to Belgium to face charges related to these allegations. His legal team has contested the extradition, arguing that the prosecution’s case contains inaccuracies and lacks clarity.

Caio Marchesani faces serious allegations of facilitating large-scale money laundering operations for criminal organizations through cryptocurrency platforms. The legal proceedings and outcomes of these charges will be crucial in determining his culpability and the extent of his involvement in the alleged activities.

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.

What was Caio Marchesani trying to hide?

Caio Marchesani‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling Caio Marchesani in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information Caio Marchesani may be trying to remove from the internet –

Investigative Report: Allegations and Controversies Surrounding Caio Marchesani

Background

Caio Marchesani is an Italian-born fintech entrepreneur and owner of Trans-Fast Remittance Ltd, a payment processing company based in London and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Known in financial circles for his involvement in remittance and fintech operations, Marchesani’s reputation took a severe hit after being accused of facilitating large-scale money laundering activities linked to international criminal syndicates. This report delves into the key allegations, legal proceedings, and public response surrounding these serious accusations.

1. Accusations of Money Laundering for Criminal Syndicates

In a highly publicized case, Marchesani has been accused of managing substantial cryptocurrency transactions on behalf of powerful and dangerous criminal organizations. Authorities allege that he facilitated the laundering of drug money by converting illicit cash into cryptocurrency, a tactic commonly used to obscure the origin of funds. The investigations highlight Marchesani’s role in enabling money laundering for high-profile criminal figures, including:

• Flor Bressers: Known as the “finger cutter,” Bressers is infamous for violent criminal activities and leading an organized crime network involved in drug trafficking and other offenses.
• Sergio Roberto De Carvalho: Dubbed the “Brazilian Pablo Escobar,” De Carvalho was considered one of the most wanted drug lords globally, involved in an extensive network of drug trafficking, money laundering, and violent crimes.

These allegations place Marchesani at the center of a major international criminal investigation, suggesting that he used his fintech company as a conduit to move and launder vast sums of money.

2. Use of Cryptocurrency Platforms and Sophisticated Methods

Reports indicate that Marchesani leveraged multiple cryptocurrency exchange accounts, particularly on platforms like Binance, to conduct these illicit transactions. This strategy allowed him to charge significant fees for laundering money, funneling millions through various accounts to obscure the source and destination of the funds.

The use of cryptocurrency to move large sums of money became more attractive during the COVID-19 pandemic when traditional channels faced heightened scrutiny and restrictions. Investigators claim that Marchesani capitalized on this shift by orchestrating complex transactions across various platforms, enabling criminal networks to evade detection and bypass financial regulations.

3. Arrest and Legal Developments

In May 2023, Marchesani was detained at Heathrow Airport, a significant turning point that underscored the seriousness of the charges against him. Following his arrest, the UK court reviewed evidence from Belgian prosecutors, who sought his extradition on counts of facilitating money laundering for criminal networks.

• Extradition to Belgium: A UK court approved Marchesani’s extradition to Belgium, where he would face a full trial. His legal team contested the decision, arguing that the charges lacked precision and that the case presented inconsistencies. Despite these arguments, the court determined that the evidence warranted his extradition for further investigation and potential trial.

4. Allegations of Exploiting Regulatory Gaps

The accusations against Marchesani are particularly concerning due to the broader implications for fintech and cryptocurrency regulation. His alleged activities underscore vulnerabilities in existing regulatory frameworks that criminals can exploit. By using a licensed payment institution to mask illegal activities, Marchesani’s case has shed light on how regulatory oversight can sometimes fail to detect or prevent sophisticated laundering schemes until significant damage is done.

5. Public and Industry Response

The revelations have drawn significant attention from both the public and financial industry insiders. Marchesani’s case has sparked debates about the responsibilities of payment service providers and the importance of rigorous compliance measures. The fintech community, especially entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions, faces increased scrutiny and pressure to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) protocols.

Critics argue that cases like Marchesani’s reveal gaps in regulatory oversight and demonstrate how some fintech operators may misuse the lack of stringent checks in the rapidly evolving crypto space to facilitate illegal activities. The FCA, which had regulated Trans-Fast Remittance Ltd, has also faced questions regarding its monitoring practices.

Conclusion

Caio Marchesani’s case represents a significant chapter in ongoing discussions about the intersection of fintech, cryptocurrency, and global crime. The allegations against him highlight the potential for financial platforms to be misused for criminal purposes and have drawn attention to the need for more robust regulatory measures in the fintech and crypto sectors.

The legal outcomes of this case will likely have far-reaching implications for how regulators and law enforcement approach similar cases in the future, reinforcing the need for stronger AML practices and enhanced scrutiny in financial operations. For Marchesani, these allegations have marked a dramatic fall from his position as a fintech entrepreneur to facing serious charges that could reshape his career and personal life.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Caio Marchesani (or actors working on behalf of Caio Marchesani), we will inform Caio Marchesani of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Caio Marchesani may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Caio Marchesani, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Caio Marchesani to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

Since Caio Marchesani made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for 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, which Caio Marchesani is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for Caio Marchesani

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 Caio Marchesani Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Caio Marchesani 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. Caio Marchesani 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 Caio Marchesani 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. Caio Marchesani 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.

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.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Caio Marchesani 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, Caio Marchesani either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Caio Marchesani, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

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. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

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.

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. Caio Marchesani is in great company ….

What else is Caio Marchesani hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [Caio Marchesani] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. 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 industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on Caio Marchesani that you want to share with experts and journalists, 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.