Online sellers reportedly offer licenses with promises of fast approval and no taxes.
Authorities in Comoros have issued warnings about companies selling gambling, as well as financial licenses in the name of an island in the Union of the Comoros, Anjouan. As the entities issuing them operate without official recognition, they say these licenses lack any legal basis.
Officials point to the AOFA or Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority as the main entity behind the operation. Authorities established the regulatory body in the 1990s, during a period of political separation on the island. Yet, after Anjouan rejoined the Comoros, national banking laws passed in 2013 and 2015 ended the authority of AOFA. AOFA maintains an online registry of licensed companies, covering banks, insurers and gambling operators in spite of this.
Linked to AOFA are firms such as Anjouan Corporate Services, as well as Anjouan Licensing Services. Launched in 2023, the former acts as agent of AOFA. It handles gambling licenses through the Anjouran Gaming Control Board. It claims to have issued more than 1,300 like licenses, each costing around €17,000 yearly. A Costa Rica based consultancy firm which promotes Anjouan as an affordable option for gambling operators, another firm connected to the licensing network is Fast Offshore.
Sellers reportedly offer these licenses online, often promising quick approval and no taxes. Receiving documents that look official yet rely on outdated laws from 2005, operators pay feed and submit forms digitally. Letting sites to claim regulation without it, the process skips real checks.
The Comoros Central Bank has continuously stated that AOFA and related entities have no physical or legal existence in the country. Officials caution that the groups put consumers at risk, as well as undermine regulatory checks.
With Australian authorities warning that unlicensed offshore gambling sites are using them to deceive locals into thinking they’re legitimate, the fake licenses are also causing ripples in global markets.
With promotions for Anjouan licenses still appearing online, the network remains active, as of January of the current year.
