The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu on Tuesday revoked the license of Pacific Private Bank, a Lithuanian-owned institution founded by the creators of Bankera, according to a report by 15min.lt.
Pacific Private Bank was a key part of the Bankera ecosystem, where tens of millions of euros raised from investors in Lithuania were transferred, 15min.lt reported. A significant share of those funds was allegedly used to buy luxury real estate or issued as personal loans to Bankera’s founders.
The bank is owned by three Bankera co-founders: Vytautas Karalevičius, Mantas Mockevičius and Justas Dobiliauskas.
In September, the Vanuatu central bank announced plans to revoke the bank’s license citing violations, though it did not provide detailed reasons for the move to 15min.lt or its partners. Pacific Private Bank has the right to appeal the decision.
Authorities in Vanuatu began investigating the bank after 15min.lt and its partners at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published an investigation in April.
The report found that tens of millions of euros collected from Bankera’s cryptocurrency token sales seven years ago were funnelled into the Vanuatu-based bank owned by the three founders. From there, the funds were allegedly transferred to their personal accounts and those of affiliated companies.
Following the media investigation, Lithuanian law enforcement opened a pretrial investigation in May into the Bankera crypto token project.
Pervesk, an e-money institution regulated by the Bank of Lithuania, was also a key component of the project. It reportedly facilitated the transfer of tens of millions of dollars in investor funds to the Vanuatu bank.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
