MANAMA: A fraudulent institution claiming to be licensed by Bahrain’s banking regulator has been busted by authorities.
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) yesterday warned the public against dealing with unlicensed entities that market investments on social media platforms.
It said that a company named ‘Bahrain Bitcoin’ claimed to be licensed by the CBB to operate as a concurrency trading platform.
The CBB stressed that the company was not licensed and urged people in Bahrain not to deal with them.
“This warning comes as a result of a fraudulent institution under the name of ‘bahrain.bitcoin’ on Instagram, which is claiming to be licensed by the CBB as a cryptocurrency trading platform,” it said in a statement.
“The CBB also stresses the need for consumers to ensure the utmost care and caution, and take into consideration the risks when investing, dealing or trading any amounts with any person, persons, institutions, companies or websites, including social media.
“They should ensure the companies hold necessary licences from the CBB to engage in such activities.”
The GDN has discovered that the company in question also operates another Instagram account (Bahrain.invest) that claims to be licensed in cryptocurrency trading.
During a conversation with the GDN via Instagram direct message, the company – Bahrain Bitcoin – yesterday maintained they were licensed by the CBB and urged the regulator to check its records, further warning of a lawsuit.
However, the CBB yesterday urged the public to visit its website, www.cbb.gov.bh, to verify the authenticity of such institutions.
Rogues companies continue to advertise on social media, text messages or websites offering investment opportunities and promising fast financial gains.
The CBB last year issued three different warnings against unlicensed financial institutions: United Investment Bank, National Investment Bank and a fraudulent scam involving the impersonation of Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
The GDN reported in July that the United Investment Bank fraud was discovered due to an investor complaint, as the firm was running the scam by contacting individuals and marketing services in asset management, brokerage and investment banking.
The CySEC alert in June last year came after investors were approached and asked to pay fees in exchange for help in settling compensation claims against businesses under CySEC’s supervision.
In that scam, contact was often via email which appeared to be genuine – they carried the name, address, official stamp and logo of CySEC and fraudulently copied CySEC officials’ signature.
False promises were made to assist them in claiming compensation for potential damages in connection with dealings they have had with firms, such as online trading platforms offering speculative investment products.
On June 19, Bahrain’s banking regulator issued a warning against dealing with a fraudulent institution named National Investment Bank.
Like United Investment Bank, the fraudulent entity claimed to be licensed by the CBB to undertake trading services, post trade services, depositing certificate of shares and market information services.
sandy@gdn.com.bh
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