A 53-year-old Portuguese emigrant is the owner of one of the largest prostitution websites in France, sexemodel.com.
The information comes from an investigation by the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) network, involving over 20 international media outlets.
The investigation, named ‘Dirty Payments’, identified Mário Duarte Cardoso, who immigrated to Switzerland, as owning the website through ZA Media Services GmbH. In 2023, this company reportedly generated revenues close to 29 million euros via the French multinational Wordline, a major online payment provider in Europe.
However, Cardoso is in fact a front for Swiss businessman David Azzato, convicted in France in 2011 for pimping. Azzato, 47, is described as one of the most influential figures in online prostitution across Europe and the United States.
Azzato is associated with 16 companies and over 80 websites, using fronts to avoid criminal prosecution, which is where Cardoso comes in. Originally from Castro Daire, Cardoso was registered as the owner of ZA Media Services GmbH in 2022, two years after its founding.
In 2015, Cardoso had established Transporte Duarte Cardoso, a transport company inactive since 2022, when he became the website’s owner.
Cardoso was questioned by a journalist from the Swiss publication Die Wochenzeitung and mentioned selling the company a week prior, referring further inquiries to ZA Media Services’ accountant. Nonetheless, this sale has not yet been recorded commercially.
The story extends further with Luís Cides, another Portuguese immigrant in Switzerland, who is formally the owner of a prostitution website in the United States, eros.com, also linked to David Azzato.
Cides, 32, declined to comment on the matter. The investigation reveals that this site was acquired in April 2024 by Daslur Services AG, owned by Cides.
In 2023, the site earned seven million euros through Worldline.
He is a tax resident in Switzerland and has no other ties to Portugal.
Azzato’s affiliated websites feature profiles of prostitutes from specific markets, pornographic content, and services catering to wealthy older men seeking younger women, including what they term “Russian brides”.
Prostitutes on these sites pay a monthly fee to be listed, which may vary if they want increased visibility for their profiles.
Though only convicted once, Azzato has remained under scrutiny by authorities. In 2024, he relocated from Switzerland to Romania, adopting the name Davide Salerno. In January 2020, he was caught driving under the influence after evading a police stop and injuring an officer. He was not charged but left the country, currently residing in Dubai.
