Canadian regulator issues warning about offshore crypto company

The Nova Scotia Securities Commission has issued an investor alert on August 7th, cautioning Canadian investors about a foreign company by the name of aGiftapp, which is currently in the middle of holding an ICO for its aGiftToken.

According to the warning, aGiftapp is not registered in Nova Scotia and therefore does not have the right to conduct the sale of securities and allow local residents on their platform.

The company is registered in Bucharest, Romania and it’s not even clear if they hold a local license.

Stephanie Atkinson, the Acting Director of Enforcement with the Commission warns that Nova Scotians need to be extremely cautious when looking for opportunities for investment. There is more than enough material to check the company’s legitimacy with the commission which the director encourages.

The Commission also adds that more than 130 investigations on local Initial Coin Offerings have been launched in recent months and that the regulator will do all that it can to classify and provide information on each and every one of them.

Although the regulator does not classify aGiftapp as a scam, it’s quite likely to be so. Having a company registered in Romania and deliberately targeting investors in Canada could be a red flag, but investigations still need to yield definitive answers.