The three Hong Kong-based companies that are registered in Samoa's company registry need to come out and say what is the nature of their business and why the interest in Samoa, especially the Gagaifomauga No.3. constituency, which according to records is a shareholder.

The businesses they have listed cannot operate in Samoa according to the Office of the Prime Minister because there are no legislations which govern the nature of business these companies allegedly intend to do.

The Government has been right in saying that it must ensure that such initiatives are safe, sound, and feasible.  Proposals of this nature require proper frameworks in place to regulate the exchange platform and protect market users and investors.

The Government is taking a cautious approach with regard to any proposals related to Digital Assets (also known as virtual assets or cryptocurrency) Exchanges. This given the global experiences of such exchanges being used in scams and money laundering.

One of the questions that pops up is the involvement of the Gagaifomauga No.3. constituency. How did the constituency become a shareholder? Was a special village council meeting called and all members of the constituency had a referendum? Or was it one person that decided on this and the rest of the constituency is in the dark on the matter?

We are now discovering that these companies have changed their postal addresses and registered offices, listing the Fono Fa'avae Offices, Sasina, Savai'i Gagaifomauga No.3. as the new address.

The district office runs from the grants that are provided by the Government, which means that the taxpayers are funding this. So how does something funded by the Government become the registered address for three Chinese companies which deal with cryptocurrency and work in the Digital Assets space.

Does this mean that the money given under the district development grant is being used to finance the companies? The possibilities and the assumptions can be many, to clear the air either the companies involved or their local shareholders need to explain the nature of their business.

The Government and the local shareholders need to be careful because such businesses which deal in the digital assets space have been known to be major scams which have been set up in Thailand, other Asian countries and perhaps this a move into the Pacific.

Samoa’s tax laws need much revision and because of the lack of strong laws, the European Union has blacklisted Samoa. Caution must be exercised and a thorough investigation is required on what these businesses aim to do in Samoa.

Fraudulent crypto investment schemes directed from Asia known as “pig butchering” have become a global billion-dollar industry. But little is known about those who benefit. News agency Reuters reports that previously unreported transactions provide rare insight into the finances of pig-butchering scams, which involve engaging unsuspecting people online. Scammers cultivate trust and then persuade victims to invest in fraudulent crypto schemes, sometimes via fake websites built to look like legitimate trading platforms. Sometimes the targets initially receive real returns to trick them into believing the scheme is legitimate.

Such scams have drawn intensifying scrutiny from global law enforcement over the past year, but little is publicly known about the people behind them.

Crypto fraud has emerged as a multibillion-dollar criminal specialty that has entrapped victims around the world. In the United States alone, victims reported losses of $2.6 billion from pig butchering and other crypto fraud last year, more than double the previous year, according to the FBI. The true scale of the losses is unknown because victims are often too embarrassed to report crimes to authorities.

In April, the U.S. Department of Justice said it seized about $112 million worth of crypto linked to pig-butchering scams, without identifying suspects. A warrant that resulted in the seizure of more than half that amount specified a Binance account registered in Thailand.

There have been two Cabinet Ministers who have been linked to these companies. Both of them were present at the launch, pictures do not lie and one of them is the member of parliament for the Gagaifomauga No.3. constituency. The companies changed their address to the Gagaifomauga No.3. constituency district office could be a coincidence.

Hopefully when the Prime Minister returns home after the COP28 meeting, she would get an explanation from her cabinet minister on the involvement of the constituency and what is the nature of the business these companies intend to do. Samoa needs to tread carefully on this one.