Regulators Issue Warnings Over 'Fraudulent' Bitcoin Investment Scheme

Regulators in Belize and the Seychelles have sounded the alarm about an allegedly fraudulent bitcoin investment website.

AccessTimeIconNov 22, 2016 at 4:44 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 5:26 p.m. UTC

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Regulators in Belize and the Seychelles have sounded the alarm about a bitcoin investment scheme.

Belize’s Office of the International Financial Services Commission has said that Xmaxbit, a website claiming to offer cryptocurrency investment and mining services, is not officially registered in the country. A registration document posted on its website is “a complete forgery”, according to the agency.

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  • The Belize government noted:

    “This entity is not licensed/regulated by the International Financial Services Commission or any other competent authority in Belize to conduct any type of trading business.”

    The agency said that website visitors should “take note and exercise extreme caution” in light of the alleged forgery.

    Belize isn’t the only country to accuse Xmaxbit of fraud. Earlier this month, the Seychelles Financial Services Authority issued a similar warning about the site, stating that Xmaxbit was fraudulently claiming that it was registered in the Seychelles.

    “Members of the public are therefore strongly advised to exercise extreme caution when dealing with Xmaxbit,” the regulator said.

    An request for comment sent to an email address posted on the Xmaxbit website was not immediately returned.

    Image via Shutterstock

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