OSC joins multi-jurisdiction settlement with GS Partners

TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2025 /CNW/ - The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced today it will participate in a multi-jurisdictional settlement, along with other provincial and U.S. state securities regulators, with GS Partners and its affiliated companies.

The settlement is with GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG, GSB Gold Standard Bank LTD (commonly known as "GS Partners"), GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG, affiliated entities together known as the "GSB Group", and Josip Heit, the group's principal.

In October 2023, a working group of U.S. state securities regulators and the British Columbia Securities Commission investigated GS Partners and their alleged offerings of investments tied to digital assets and the metaverse. These included the G999 token, a digital asset purportedly deployed on a proprietary blockchain tied to physical gold; digital 'vouchers' representing alleged ownership interests in a skyscraper; investments in a "staking pool" in a metaverse; and 'certificates' that used gamification techniques to increase an investors' stake.

GS Partners was added to the OSC Investor Warning List in July 2023. 

How to file a claim

Per the settlement terms, GS Partners will provide compensation to eligible investors by paying the value of their investments or deposits less the value of any withdrawals. The claims process will be managed by AlixPartners LP.

• In order to receive a refund, investors need to file a claim within 90 days of February 21, 2025.
• Information on how to file a claim can be found on the website managed by AlixPartners at gsbsettlement.com.
• Depending on how the investment was made, investors will be paid in either money or cryptocurrency.

GS Partners and its affiliates must return all money and/or cryptocurrencies deposited with them, regardless of the product or service the investor purchased, and must also fund the costs of the claims process.

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper, or fraudulent practices, to foster fair, efficient and competitive capital markets, and confidence in the capital markets, to foster capital formation, and to contribute to the stability of the financial system and the reduction of systemic risk. Investors are urged to check the registration of any persons or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC investor materials available at https://www.osc.ca.

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SOURCE Ontario Securities Commission

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