Norwegian regulators circle OneCoin's local operation
The Norwegian Gaming Board is done waiting for answers. After months of stonewalling from OneCoin, the regulator is now preparing to go after the cryptocurrency scheme's local affiliates operating inside Norway's borders.
OneCoin's defense is simple: they don't operate in Norway. The company is technically registered in Bulgaria through a Dubai shell corporation after being kicked out of Gibraltar late last year. When regulators in any country tell OneCoin to shut down, the company repeats the same claim—we're not even here.
That dodge won't work in Norway anymore.
The Gaming Board first reached out to OneCoin in April after receiving public complaints about the scheme. By October, they still hadn't gotten a response. Undeterred, the regulator asked permission to attend a local OneCoin recruitment event in February. When OneCoin ignored that request too, the Gaming Board showed up anyway in March.
"We got an insight into how the business is produced in Norway. It was interesting," said Silje Amble, the Gaming Board's senior investigator.
OneCoin finally responded through their lawyer, Per Danielsen. His message to regulators was blunt: the company has no business in Norway and no plans to start any.
Danielsen also claimed that OneCoin's payment structure—where recruits earn commissions by signing up other investors—isn't a pyramid scheme. He called it a "misunderstanding."
The Gaming Board rejected that argument entirely.
Under Norway's Lotteries Act, pyramid schemes are illegal. The law defines a pyramid scheme as any operation deriving more than fifty percent of its revenue from affiliate recruitment. OneCoin has no retail component. One hundred percent of its revenue comes from affiliates.
The math is not in OneCoin's favor.
"There are many such companies that operated from abroad," Amble said. "But having no dedicated Norwegian branch is not an obstacle for us to scrutinize a company and possibly cease activities that are illegal in Norway."
When asked whether the Gaming Board had formally requested a revenue breakdown from OneCoin to confirm pyramid scheme operations, Amble stopped short of confirming the next move. "So far we have not done it. But I can not respond to what we do going forward."
That answer suggests the Gaming Board is preparing to escalate. The agency is already in contact with Økokrim, Norway's National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, according to reports. The two regulators are coordinating their response to OneCoin's activities inside the country.
OneCoin's typical playbook—operating through shell companies and claiming no local presence—appears to be hitting its limit with Norwegian authorities. The Gaming Board's focus on local affiliates could prove far more difficult for the scheme to evade than requests directed at the parent company.
🤖 Quick Answer
What action is the Norwegian Gaming Board taking against OneCoin?The Norwegian Gaming Board is preparing enforcement measures against OneCoin's local affiliates operating within Norway's borders after months of unsuccessful attempts to obtain responses from the cryptocurrency scheme's representatives regarding regulatory complaints received since April.
How does OneCoin defend itself against regulatory scrutiny?
OneCoin claims it does not operate in the countries where regulators intervene, arguing the company is registered in Bulgaria through a Dubai shell corporation and therefore maintains no local jurisdiction, a defense strategy repeatedly employed across multiple nations.
What prompted Norwegian regulatory intervention against OneCoin?
The Norwegian Gaming Board initiated contact with OneCoin in April following public complaints about the scheme, but received no response by October, compelling regulators to pursue alternative enforcement mechanisms against the organization's local representatives.
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