The Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles has released a cautionary statement against companies claiming to be affiliated or registered in the East African nation.
According to FSA, 53 virtual asset providers are neither registered or incorporated in Seychelles and have made false claims about their legality in the country. These entities have been found to be:
Advertising and/or offering VASP activities
Targeting Seychelles’ consumers with websites in the local language promoting the sale or exchange of cryptocurrencies or other VAs
Holding promotional events providing payment options that supports the purchase of virtual assets using credit cards and debit cards with conversions within the local currency
cCaiming to operate from or have their registered business address in the Seychelles
The listed virtual asset service providers are:
ALLABOUTME – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
AIVA – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
APOLLO FINTECH – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
BITCONFIRM – MINING
BITCOIN SEYCHELLES – CHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
BITLADDIN – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER LIMITED
BOOMCOIN (BOOMC) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
BTCEX – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
BUCKYCOIN – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
COINFARM CONCERTS – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
COINGAIN – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
CRYTOALLDAY – WALLET SERVICES PROVIDER
CRDTPAY – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
EXBASEIO – WALLET SERVICES PROVIDER
FOXCONN GLOBAL LTD – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
GOTRADE – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
HODLY – WALLET SERVICES PROVIDER
HOTBIT.XYZ – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
IDCM – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
IP GOLD – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
ITRUST GOVERNANCE TOKEN (ITG) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
KORPORATION BLOCKCHAIN – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
LIVECOIN – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
LOEX GLOBAL – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
MAJOR PRIME FX – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
MANGO EXCHANGE – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT
MARKETMINE – MINING
MEDABOTS – GAMING
METALIFE – GAMING
MINNERZONE – MINING
MINPRZE – MINING
MONIFEX – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
NEBOIT – MINING
NEKO NETWORK (NEKO) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
OCG WALLET – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
OLYMTRADE – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
PIXEL SOFTWARE – MINING
PORTION (PRT) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
PROFXCOIN – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
R3 HOLDINGS PRODUCT CO. LTD – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
RXEL – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
SAFEPAL (SFP) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
SPECTROCOIN – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
STABLE ASSET (STA) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
STORX (SRX) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
TAMIUS WALLET – WALLET SERVICES PROVIDER
TRIPLECOIN – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
TWNKLBUY – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
TXBIT.IO – EXCHANGE PLATFORM AND/OR PAYMENT PROVIDER
WAVE MAKERS LTD – INVESTMENT, TRADING OR BROKER SERVICES
VITCOIN – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
XCHANGERATE (XPR) – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
ZORIX – NFT OR ICO ISSUER / PROVIDER
According to the FSA, consumers are advised to remain cautious about the risks and potential financial loss and damage that can be incurred when dealing with VAs or VASPs which are either not registered or authorized as VASPs service providers under any law, especially the Seychelles laws.
“These businesses are not applying the controls required under the Seychelles Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism law, intended to detect, prevent and disrupt possible financial crimes,” FSA said in a press release.
“Furthermore these entities do not have in place control measures to protect customer funds and reduce the risk of their misuse.”
Seychelles, an archipelago of 155 islands situated in the Indian Ocean, southeast of mainland Eastern Africa, is the smallest African country. Due to its relaxed know-your-customer procedures, the African country has been a global haven for crypto businesses running away from strict regulations. According to a 2020 report, 72% of African-domiciled crypto assets exchanges and services are registered in the Seychelles and 70% of those Seychelles-domiciled exchanges and services have bad or porous KYC.
Seychelles has served as corporate headquarters of the world’s top crypto businesses including:
Binance
BitMEX
KuCoin
OKEx
The regulator says they are working on a legislative framework to regulate VASPs and VAs, with the expectation it will be finalized by early 2024.
In the meantime, the authorities, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, are undertaking close monitoring to prevent and detect any illegal and unauthorized activities to protect the interests of the consumers and the reputation of Seychelles.
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