Bureau of Tax & Revenue and Financial Institutions Commission issued a joint statement yesterday warning potential customers, investors and potential investors of an unauthorized, illegal and fraudulent products related to crypto assets and crypto-currencies being promoted and offered online from Palau.
Both entities expressed in a joint statement, “The public is advised that recent and ongoing attempts by individuals and/or corporate entities to utilize previously obtained licenses from the Bureau of Revenue and Taxation of the Republic of Palau, including licenses that were subsequently voided and nullified, for the purpose of conducting any and all business activities relating to crypto-currencies and crypto-assets, are invalid and illegal. Any aspect of their promoted operations and/or other purported legitimate financial activities having to deal with banking or any banking institutions have not been licensed or authorized by the Financial Institutions Commission as well.”
“Some get a general business license for non-crypto activity and presents it outside to engage in crypto-related business,” stated Revenue and Taxation Director Rhinehart Silas. Adding, “For example, Joe gets consulting business license and uses it to “partner” with outside shady unknown entities to do crypto work that is questionable, invalid and illegal.”
Extreme caution is urged by the Financial Institutions Commission and Bureau of Revenue and Taxation, for any consumer, investor and potential investor, to “conduct due diligence on any business or corporate entity purporting to be authorized by any governmental authority in the Republic of Palau, to conduct said internet based crypto-asset and crypto-currency related activities.”
Such activities are in direct violation and contravention of the standing Financial Institutions Commission Moratorium on “issuance of any licenses to any banking and banking related entity or existing licensed bank conducting or purporting to conduct business activity online and/or activity based out of Palau utilizing crypto-assets or crypto-currencies.”
Fraudulent organizations and/or individuals are said to be attempting to “entice and secure funds from investors and potential investors for unauthorized and fraudulent products offered and promoted.” International authorities and third-party potential investors are informing Palau of these illegal activities being promoted on the internet in the name of Palau.
Number of websites such as paxful.com, cryptocurrencyhub.io, spectrocoin.com and others are selling bitcoins and other crypto products supposedly from Palau.
“They don’t sell from Palau. They operate elsewhere but purport to be licensed out of Palau where there are no regulations…no liability for them but potential liability for our government,” expressed Semdiu Decherong, Palau Financial Commissioner, when reached for explanation.
Both Revenue and Taxation Bureau and Financial Institutions Commission are warning perpetrators and as well potential investors in these activities that these are illegal, unauthorized and not permitted by the Republic of Palau.