Some Forex brokers claim to be regulated by the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority (AOFA). Anjouan is part of the Union of the Comoros.
The Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority sounds like a real regulator, but it isn't one. This post explains what you need to know.
What is the actual, legitimate regulator in the Union of the Comoros?
The legitimate financial regulator for the Union of Comoros, including Anjouan, is La Banque Centrale des Comores (the Central Bank of Comoros).
If you are looking for a Forex broker that is legally regulated within the Union of the Comoros, you should be checking if it is licensed by La Banque Centrale des Comores, not the AOFA.
Is the AOFA a legitimate regulator?
On its website, the AOFA makes the following bold claim:
The Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority (AOFA) is the central regulatory body responsible for overseeing and supervising the financial sector in Anjouan, one of the Autonomous Islands of the Union of the Comoros. Established in line with the principles outlined in the Comoros Constitution, the the AOFA was created to promote the integrity, transparency, and stability of the financial system, ensuring that it aligns with international best practices and regulatory standards.
This is a blatant lie. As we just shared, the AOFA is not the central regulatory body, La Banque Centrale des Comores is.
The site continues:
The AOFA's primary mandate is to regulate and supervise all financial institutions and activities within Anjouan. This includes overseeing offshore banking, insurance, investment services, and other financial services operating in the jurisdiction.
Once again, no. There is no "mandate" for the AOFA. It is not a real regulator.
Interestingly, the AOFA is not the only fake regulator that is located in the Union of Comoros. There is another called the Mwali International Services Authority (MISA). But Mwali's true regulator is La Banque Centrale des Comores.
This US Department of State document mentions:
[T]he branch of the Central Bank located in Anjouan had no knowledge of the shell bank entities that have been licensed by Anjouan's Offshore Finance Authority, which apparently operates independently from the Union's Central Bank and has licenced some 300 offshore banks, many of which appear to be shell banks.
In other words, the AOFA has no direct connection to the Central Bank and derives no authority from the Central Bank.
How did the AOFA come to exist?
Often, fake regulators are false from the start. But the AOFA's history started out differently.
During the 1990s, Anjouan tried to split off from the Comoros. The separatist movement created some parallel structures of governance, one of which was the AOFA. Within the context of that separatist movement, it was legitimate for the separatists. But the Comoros never recognized the separatist movement or its regulatory structures as legitimate.
The separatist movement ultimately failed, and Anjouan was re-integrated into the Comoros. The Comoros passed banking laws in 2013-2015 that dissolved the AOFA.
At that point, no one could argue that the AOFA had any further legitimacy. Yet it never went away. It's unknown whether the people operating it are separatist remnants or not. But we do know that it brings in estimated tens of millions of euros every year by selling licenses.
Given that reality, it can be confidently stated that the main reason the AOFA continues to illegally exist and operate is to make money for the people who are running it. Their practices are deceptive, and the licenses they sell have no legal weight or value. In short, they are scammers.
Responsibilities
The AOFA claims a slew of "responsibilities" that it does not have, including licensing Forex brokers and other financial businesses:
- Forex licenses
- Crypto licenses
- Insurance licenses
- Finance licenses
- Gaming licenses
Supposedly:
The AOFA is responsible for ensuring that all financial operations within Anjouan are conducted in a responsible, transparent, and compliant manner. It enforces a comprehensive regulatory framework that upholds the principles of sound financial governance, safeguarding the interests of stakeholders and promoting stability within the financial system.
Again, they do not have these responsibilities.
Ironically, they also claim the following:
The AOFA is dedicated to protecting the financial system from illicit activities, including money laundering. In line with the Money Laundering Prevention Act (Government Notice 008 of 2005), the Authority ensures that all financial institutions comply with stringent anti-money laundering (AML) measures, thereby reinforcing the integrity and security of the financial sector.
That's a pretty bold claim from a fake regulator that is making money by selling fake licenses to financial businesses.
The website for the AOFA looks "real" enough at a glance. But if you explore it a bit, you will quickly realize that it has very little actual content. It's very "thin," because the AOFA isn't a real regulator.
Noteworthy is the fact that the AOFA's website operates on an international .org domain name: anjouanoffshorefinancialauthority[dot]org. Whereas a legitimate government-affiliate website would be using the country's .km domain name.
Who should register?
Nobody should register with the AOFA, because it is not a real regulator. Forex brokers, investment firms, and other financial entities should instead register with La Banque Centrale des Comores, or with other official regulators in other countries.
Registration and compliance requirements
The AOFA has little to say on its website about registration requirements for Forex brokers, just:
Licensed entities must adhere to strict operational and risk management standards to ensure transparency and protect clients from fraudulent activities in the highly volatile forex market.
The documentation available on their website doesn't provide clear information regarding registration requirements and appears to be all mixed up. Moreover, trying to access linked PDFs on the site triggers antivirus software warnings.
That should tell you pretty much all you need to know about the AOFA licensing.
If, for whatever reason, you want to find out whether a company holds a "valid" AOFA license, you can use the website's Regulatory Status Checker. This database will verify whether a company has been issued a fake license by this fake regulator.
Powers at the AOFA's disposal
As you might expect, the AOFA is vague about the powers it supposedly possesses, stating simply that it "enforces comprehensive regulations" and that it also "enforces stringent anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) measures."
It is not terribly important to know the details of how the AOFA "enforces" these rules and laws, because it does not have any legal oversight whatsoever.
If you have a problem with an AOFA-regulated Forex broker, you should not expect the AOFA to step in and do anything about it. They can try to mediate, but they would be doing so in an unofficial capacity.
They could threaten to revoke the broker's license. But the license is technically worthless since it has no legal authority behind it. So, it would not function as effective leverage.
There is nothing meaningful the AOFA can actually do to enforce any law or requirement. If they are your broker's sole regulator, you are on your own.
Conclusion
The Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority (AOFA) may have been a legitimate regulator once upon a time from the perspective of the separatists who created it. But it has zero legal authority in the present. La Banque Centrale des Comores (the Central Bank of Comoros) is the real official regulator for the Union of Comoros.
Use caution when you see Forex brokers listing the AOFA as if it is a real license. Consider avoiding them altogether, as some may be scammers themselves. But even if they are not, the AOFA has no regulatory power to protect you. Stick with brokers that are regulated by real official agencies like La Banque Centrale des Comores.
