Report Alleges Mastercard and Visa Facilitated Payments for Child Exploitation Content

According to Reuters, a whistleblower filed a complaint with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit (FinCEN) of the U.S. Treasury Department alleging that Mastercard, Visa, and their payment networks failed to stop laundering funds from child sex abuse material and sex trafficking on OnlyFans.

Reuters reported that a senior financial expert filed the complaint. It claims that payment giants knew that their networks were being used to pay illegal content on OnlyFans. OnlyFans is a social media site where fans pay money to follow people who upload photos and videos. According to Reuters, the whistleblower claimed that companies “turned a blind eye to illicit revenue flows.”

FinCen stated in a press release that it does not comment on the submissions made to its whistleblower program, “including whether FinCEN received submissions about a particular financial institution.” FinCEN, according to a spokesperson, does not comment about investigations or confirm if one is underway.

CBS News reported that Visa “explicitly and unambiguously prohibits illegal activity on its network and condemns all forms of sexual assault.” The company said, “We have strict compliance requirements that apply to all financial institutions and merchants that submit transactions through the Visa network.” We will terminate the accounts of those who do not comply with our rules.

In an email, Mastercard stated, “We have zero tolerance for illegal activities on our network.”

The company also added, “No evidence of illegal activity in the current period has been provided”.

OnlyFans did not immediately respond to our comment request.

Reuters reports that the whistleblower filed a complaint in January 2023 to FinCEN and U.S. Justice and Homeland Security. According to the article, the whistleblower had alerted Mastercard in 2021 and Visa in 2022 about illegal content on OnlyFans.

OnlyFans announced that it would remove sexually explicit material in 2021 after receiving requests from financial institutions and banking partners. The company reversed this decision shortly after, following an outcry by some of its creators.