Intergiro was a bootstrapped Swedish BaaS provider with €20M in revenue, nearly 100 employees, and 40,000 clients. They had just hit profitability. Then, overnight, the Swedish regulator revoked their license. A month later, the company filed for bankruptcy.

In this episode, former CEO Nick Root tells his side of the story: the AML investigation that started in 2022, the TV reports that accused the company of being run by criminals, the regulator appearing on television, and how a years-old inquiry suddenly came back to life.

Nick also shares lessons for founders building in regulated industries, including how to evaluate a regulator before choosing your jurisdiction and why relying on a single license was a mistake.

Please note: I did not independently verify the details. This is Nick sharing his perspective on what happened.

We cover:

• How Intergiro built a full-stack BaaS platform without VC funding
• The 2022 AML investigation and the remediation plan they implemented
• How a journalist's TV report changed the regulator's approach- Finding out about the license revocation by refreshing the regulator's website
• Winding down €600M in monthly payment volume and protecting client funds
• Nick's advice for fintech founders on jurisdiction and regulatory relationships

Connect with Nick Root on X: https://x.com/roots_cause

More about the Intergiro story: https://intergiro.com

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I'm Lars Markull, host of the Embedded Finance Review Podcast. I also write a weekly and monthly newsletter and host online and offline industry events.

And if you're building in embedded finance, I offer free office hours calls: https://www.embeddedfinancereview.com/office-hours/

This episode was produced by https://orama.tv/

(00:00) Start(01:21) Welcome and Introduction(02:02) The Shocking License Loss(03:33) Nick Root's Background and Journey(04:17) Building Intergiro: Vision and Early Days(05:47) Intergiro's Product Evolution(09:47) Facing Regulatory Challenges(19:36) Client Fraud Incident(20:12) Media Sensationalism(21:14) False Allegations(22:57) Regulatory Fallout(25:39) Company's Response(32:08) Lessons Learned(35:21) Personal Reflections and Future Plans