Nearly 300 Arrested in Philippines for Alleged Crypto Investment Scam
by Fintech News Philippines September 16, 2019227 Chinese nationals were arrested in Pasig City, Philippines, on suspicion of running a crypto investment scam targetting would be investor back in China. This was according to local media, The Inquirer.
The 227 Chinese nationals all had Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) visa, which meant that they were only permitted to work within the special economic zone in Cagayan.
The raid was reportedly conducted on Grapefruit which is a service provider of Golden Millenial Quickpay, an offshore cryptocurrency company licensed in the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA).
CEZA’s license does not permit for entities to provide services onshore, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission
While the Securities and Exchange Commission does grant licenses for cryptocurrency exchanges, sources say that documents from the regulator explicitly prohibits Grapefruit from operating as a securities broker, investment advisor, and or operating a cryptocurrency exchange.
The same report indicated that it is a growing trend for companies with offshore licensing in CEZA operating onshore.
