2025-07-18
Lietuvos bankas warns against unauthorised activities of Citadel, Coinlink, GS Investment Group and ToFro
Lietuvos bankas warns that various social media platforms and messaging applications (e.g. Telegram) are being used to promote investment in financial instruments and crypto-assets through platforms administered by unauthorized entities, such as Citadel, Coinlink, GS Investment Group and ToFro.
“As in the case of LWEX, these platforms operate illegally and pose a risk to investors. We have added these platforms to the list of entities that are not authorised to provide financial services in Lithuania. We caution the public that investing in these platforms entails a very high risk of losing some or all of the funds invested,” says Vaidas Cibas, Director of the Financial Market Supervision Department of Lietuvos bankas.
Citadel, operating under the trade names of Citadel Holdings PLC, Capital Group Citadel, Capital Group Citadel O33O or Citadel LLC, provides investment and crypto-asset-related services without being properly authorised. O33O Exchange, the platform operated by this entity, offers trading in crypto-assets and crypto-asset-related derivatives. It should be noted that the Citadel platform and its activities have no connection with the Lithuanian branch of AS Citadele banka or other companies in the AS Citadele banka group, which operates in Lithuania and is supervised by Lietuvos bankas.
Recently, there has also been an increase in reports about GS Investment Group, which promotes investments using the services provided by LWEX platform. Lietuvos bankas reminds that it has already taken action regarding the activities of LWEX and it warned investors about the risk of losing their funds and, after having the court permission, issued binding instructions to block access to the websites administered by LWEX. Like LWEX, the activities of GS Investment Group bear the features of a financial pyramid.
ToFro Exchange and Coinlink Exchange are also providing regulated services without the necessary licenses or authorizations. ToFro Exchange provides investment and crypto-asset services as it offers trading in crypto-assets and crypto-asset-related derivatives on its platform promising high returns, while Coinlink Exchange offers trading in crypto-assets on its website.
Lietuvos bankas underlines that it has not issued any licences or authorisations to Citadel, Coinlink Exchange, GS Investment Group and ToFro Exchange granting the right to provide investment or crypto-asset-related services in Lithuania and that Lietuvos bankas does not supervise the activities of these companies. In addition, that Lietuvos bankas has no information that financial market supervisory authorities of other European Union or European Economic Area countries have granted authorisations to provide services in Lithuania to these companies or supervise their activities.
Considering the risks for investors, Lietuvos bankas has added Citadel, Coinlink Exchange and ToFro Exchange to the list of entities without the right to provide financial (including investment) services in Lithuania. It already includes over 300 companies.
Please also note that the website of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has an Investor Alerts page which lists firms and individuals that are not authorised to provide investment services.
Three precautionary rules for retail investors
Lietuvos bankas warns against companies operating illegally and their representatives seeking to misappropriate investors’ funds through various methods. It also cautions against making spontaneous investment decisions without looking into who is offering the investment and what instruments are being proposed.
Rule one: Do not invest in products you do not fully understand. Otherwise you not only risk losing your savings, but also going into debt.
Rule two: Check if the institution offering the services holds the appropriate licence. This can be done on Lietuvos bankas website. It is important to remember that the company’s name must be exactly the same as the name indicated on Lietuvos bankas website.
Rule three: Avoid proposals promising “easy money” and “no risk”. Many investors lose their assets lured by “very attractive investment proposals” from “brokers” (“very flexible products and wide selection”, “minimum risk and guaranteed profit”, “small initial fees and the possibility to trade using high leverage”, “bonuses to start trading”, “very flexible and exclusive trading conditions”, “low or no service fees”, “personal consultant (broker) assigned to you”, etc.) and by trusting fraudsters with their investments.