Euro Pacific Bank Ordered to Cease Operations

OCIF Says International Financial Entity Is Insolvent

After the Puerto Rico financial institutions regulator last week suspended the operations of Euro Pacific International Bank Inc., which faces tax-enforcement probes in several countries, the bank’s sole shareholder, investor Peter Schiff, assured this week that regulators have no evidence of wrongdoing by the five-year-old institution, and claimed that they had blocked attempts to sell the bank.

The head of the commonwealth Financial Institutions Commissioner’s Office (OCIF by its Spanish acronym), Natalia Zequeira Díaz, announced last Thursday that the regulator had issued a “Complaint and Cease and Desist Order” against Euro Pacific due to its “crass non-compliance with the minimum capital requirements set for in both the Act and the Consent Order issued by OCIF in October 2021.”

The institution, which had deposit accounts and dealt in rebate cards and precious metals, does business as an international financial entity (IFE) under the Puerto Rico International Financial Center Regulatory Act (Act 273 of 2012), which only authorizes it to serve customers abroad.

To read the entire story subscribe now to our epaper at caribbeanbusiness. com

You must be logged in to post a comment Login