Two leaders of Belarus-based Regpay Co.—president Yahor Zalatarou and technical administrator Aliaksandr Boika—have pleaded guilty to processing between $2.5 million and $7 million worth of membership fees granting child porn Website access from around the world.
Zalatarou and Boika's pleas were just the latest moves in a worldwide probe that has provoked over 1,200 arrests, including two hundred in the United States, all of which involve suspects accused of buying child porn subscriptions from Regpay.
The two Regpay leaders pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy, and face up to twenty years behind bars each and fines up to twice the value of the monies involved in the member fee processing.
Zalatarou also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to send child porn by computer, which could lay another five-to-twenty years in prison and fines up to twice the Regpay profits upon him. Boika also pleaded guilty to conspiring to advertise child porn, which could mean an additional 15-30 years and up to twice the Regpay profits against him.
A third Regpay leader, marketing director Alexei Buchnev, pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiring to send child porn by computer. All three are in custody without bail pending sentencing, while a fourth Regpay leader—whose identity has yet to be disclosed—remains at large, according to authorities in the case.
Zalatrou told a federal court the entire operation started in July 2002 by way of a company he called TrustBill, changing the name to Regpay two months later after authorities told him that the payments were for child porn. Zalatarou also told the court he hired Connections USA—operating as iServe.com—to process credit card transactions for Regpay customers. Connections pleaded guilty in May 2004 and agreed to forfeit $1.1 million and go out of business in the case.
