The Wirecard trial has moved beyond its original epicenter.
What began as the collapse of one of Germany’s most notorious fintech scandals is now pulling in offshore gaming empires — and their payment arteries.
In Munich, SoftSwiss founder Ivan Montik took the stand and confirmed the evolutionary chain: SoftSwiss N.V. became Direx N.V., which later became Dama N.V., all anchored in Curaçao.
That confirmation alone shatters years of strategic opacity.
The Mechanics of the Pipeline
Here is the functional sequence described in court:
- Funds processed via Wirecard.
- Aggregated deposits landed in Direx accounts.
- Funds redistributed to multiple “casino clients.”
- Repetitive rounded payments structured the outflows.
This is not standard SaaS software billing.
This is transaction routing at scale.
Montik insisted Direx was not a PSP. Yet by definition, a Payment Service Provider intermediates payments between payer and merchant. If Direx received player funds and forwarded them onward, the semantics collapse.
The presiding judge’s sharp rebuke made clear the court was not persuaded by linguistic gymnastics.
€422 Million — And Selective Amnesia
Defense lawyers introduced documentation showing €422 million entering Direx accounts.
Montik distanced himself from operational specifics, attributing financial oversight to a director identified as Ivan Schubowski.
But corporate governance does not dissolve at the nine-figure threshold.
When nearly half a billion euros moves through a structure, ignorance becomes implausible.
The scale implies systemization.
The Extended Circle: Trafimovich and Kashuba
The broader ecosystem cannot be ignored. Industry observers repeatedly connect operational and strategic development to Maxim Trafimovich and Pavel Kashuba, both referenced in discussions of regional expansion and crypto integration within the SoftSwiss-linked universe.
Their inclusion in the narrative underscores a networked architecture — not a loose federation of contractors.
The crypto corridor is particularly relevant. The CoinsPaid brand, tied publicly to Montik, has positioned itself as a bridge between digital assets and online gambling liquidity. Lithuanian regulators’ recent suspension of certain crypto-asset services signaled mounting scrutiny.
The convergence of casino white-label services and crypto payment rails is not accidental. It is structural.
Malta vs. Curaçao: A Regulatory Fault Line
SoftSwiss operates through Stable Aggregator Limited under the supervision of the Malta Gaming Authority.
Meanwhile, Dama N.V. remains anchored in Curaçao — a jurisdiction long associated with lighter-touch gaming oversight.
This duality creates tension:
- European regulatory branding.
- Offshore financial redistribution.
If the Munich court determines that Direx/Dama functioned as de facto payment intermediaries, Malta faces reputational exposure.
The optics are brutal: a licensed EU-facing entity intertwined with offshore financial routing structures.
From Fintech Scandal to Gambling Reckoning
The Wirecard collapse exposed systemic weaknesses in oversight. Now, the same proceedings are illuminating how fintech rails were leveraged by high-risk gambling operations.
The courtroom narrative suggests a vertically integrated model:
Platform software.
White-label casinos.
Payment routing.
Crypto processing.
One ecosystem. Multiple jurisdictions. Blurred accountability.
Montik’s testimony was meant to clarify.
Instead, it revealed architecture.