BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) has advised the public to verify the authenticity of any financial products and services that claim, through social media promotions, to have the support and approval of the regulator.

“(We) would like to advise members of the public to first verify that individuals or companies providing or offering the financial services/products, are licensed by AMBD before entering into any business transactions with them,” AMBD said in a press release yesterday.

The central bank said it has received information that some individuals and companies are claiming on social media that their financial products have been approved and licensed by AMBD.

The regulator said the public can obtain a list of individuals or institutions it has licensed by going to its website https://ambd.gov.bn/. AMBD has also printed leaflets containing such information which are available at AMBD’s counters.

The same information can also be obtained from the recently-launched AMBD mobile app which can be downloaded for free from both the Apple Store and Google Play Store.

In a separate statement, the AMBD also advised the public to only deal with AMBD-licensed institutions in the wake of recent news reports regarding the UFUN scheme.

“In Thailand, it has been recently reported that raids and arrests were made on UFUN executives in Thailand over allegations of running a pyramid scam and money laundering. In Malaysia, UFUN does not have the authorisation or approval to operate and appears in Bank Negara Malaysia’s alert list.”

Regional media reports have stated that several websites linked to UFUN suggest that it is a digital currency investment platform which uses a token system to purchase merchandise online or invest in properties.

The ‘Utokens’ are sold to members, who may also earn commissions for referring new members to the scheme.

The Brunei Times