Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), has filed civil penalties proceedings against BPS Financial Pty Ltd. This is one of the country’s asset management companies.
According to a press release BPS Financial, a regulator, made misleading statements about Qoin Financial tokens. It distributed them to 79,000 investors.
ASIC noted that BPS Financial promoted the Qoin token, promising that holders could exchange the coin for other financial assets such as the Australian Dollar on independent exchanges. BPS claims that the Qoin token is able to be used for purchasing goods and paying for services from merchants with which it has partnered. However, the firm claimed that the Qoin token cannot be used for any other financial assets. Pocketbook Relevant authorities regulated the crypto products of Qoin token.
The Aussie regulator found out that none the claims made by the company were true. They discovered that products had not been licensed and token holders could not liquidate their holdings, contrary to what was promised by independent brokerage firms.
“We allege that, despite what BPS represented in its marketing, Qoin merchant numbers have been declining, and that there have been periods of time where it was not possible to exchange Qoin tokens through independent exchanges,” said ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court, “ASIC is particularly concerned about the alleged misrepresentation that the Qoin Facility is regulated in Australia, as we believe the more than 79,000 individuals and entities who have been issued with the Qoin Facility may have believed that it was compliant with financial services laws when ASIC considers it was not.”
ASIC is seeking declarations from the Court, as well as pecuniary and injunction penalties, and adverse publicity order. The regulator has been more active in the industry. Recently, 3 crypto funds were stopped Holon Investments, in an effort to protect consumers.
Source: Shutterstock
