FBI investigates OnlyFans for possible cases of child pornography and suspected money laundering

A new controversy surrounds Only fans, the platform quality content which exploded during the pandemic by giving exclusive access to its users to sexually explicit content for the payment of a subscription.

The scandal is part of an investigation that the US FBI and other government agencies around the world against the platform of suspected money laundering, as well as allegations of child pornography.

The news was announced by the journalist Scott Stedman, Founder of Independent Media Medico-legal news, which has dedicated itself to reporting suspected cases of embezzlement, fraud and incitement to child pornography involving OnlyFans and which obscure the platform’s growing popularity since last year, adding – an estimated 6,000-7,000 new content creators and 200,000 new users every day.

“The FBI has launched a ‘full’ investigation into OnlyFans’ financial activity following the Forensic News reports. According to two people directly involved, the company is under investigation for a wide range of potential crimes ”, Stedman wrote on his Twitter account.

The journalist specifies that his sources are “Completely independent from each other”, and that one of them said that the matter was being investigated by “Several international agencies around the world.”

According to various suspicious activity reports filed by banks in the United States (SAR) and elsewhere, and originally published by Medico-legal news In March 2021, Leonid Radvinsky, owner of OnlyFans and MFCXY Inc, which operates MyFreeCams – another adult content portal -, he has been singled out for suspected suspicious transactions, as well as as a promoter of platforms so that “minor children and other vulnerable people” are “forced to provide services”.

Leonid Radvinsky is a Ukrainian-American citizen well known in the world of pornography and online cameras for two decades. He operated several websites before OnlyFans, the most successful of which is MyFreeCams, which allows sex workers to live stream pornographic content funded by “tokens” purchased by users of the service.

In October 2018, Radvinsky acquired 100% of the shares of Fenix ​​International Limited in London, the parent company of OnlyFans, comparing her to Tim Stokely founder and current CEO of the platform for an undisclosed sum.

What is known is that since Radvinsky’s arrival, OnlyFans has grown into one of the fastest growing adult content platforms in recent years, although its target was not aimed at it. ‘origin.

According to recent statements from Stokely, who continues to lead the company as chairman, in 2020 – OnlyFans’ best year yet – the adult platform generated revenues of $ 2 billion, with total revenues of over $ 300 million.

These figures are not surprising considering that OnlyFans has become a cultural benchmark, in part thanks to the sheer number of actors, actresses, influencers and personalities who have registered on the platform. and started sharing private, erotic, or risky content.

They also add the constant stories of women who have managed to double, triple or quadruple their normal income by using the platform to sell photos, videos or any other sexual, erotic or explicit content.

But while the discussion in much of the world – and social media itself – has focused on the moral and ethical issues of the “business model” promoted by OnlyFans, US banks as well as the Treasury Department’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are more concerned with how their owners get their money and how they use it to grow the business.

Banks have been following for years the dubious Radvinsky deals, which before acquiring OnlyFans had already had their considerable dose of scandals, and They have reported over $ 1 billion in potentially suspicious financial activity related to their companies and activities.

Among the most egregious suspicious activity revealed in the reports of Medico-legal news, a banking expert said that Radvinsky had transferred millions of dollars between his accounts without giving the banks a proper explanation. It would have given the appearance of “tenido ”, which is a practice used to cover up the source of illegal activity and make it more difficult to trace.

In another round of suspicious activity reports, the banks said that MFCXY – another Radvinsky company that operates the MyFreeCams adult webcam platform – “It can operate in areas where minor children and other vulnerable people may be forced to provide services.”

Although the banks did not specify what services minors would provide, or cite any cases, they did point out that Large sums of money were transferred to content creators in areas “at high risk” for child prostitution such as Colombia, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Lithuania, the Philippines and Russia.

Infobae has previously reported alerts on OnlyFans and lax or non-existent controls to prevent minors from using the platform to sell erotic content or prostitute themselves. This is not to mention that behind an account with explicit content for minors, it is very likely that there is an adult who benefits from it.

While OnlyFans official policy is zero tolerance for child pornography, in reality there are indications that at the very least it is ineffective and insufficient. It remains to be seen whether the results of the FBI investigation and whether they shed light on the purchases of a platform that continues to grow in popularity, and continues to charge millions of dollars in stride, remain to be seen.

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