The Central Bank of Cyprus issued a warning on Friday regarding an entity by the name of “Neo Business Bank”, saying it does not hold the relevant licences to operate in Cyprus.

The CBC said it “urges the public, businesses, and depositors to refer to its website and specifically the Register of credit institutions operating in Cyprus” to determine the legality or otherwise of any institution masquerading as a bank before working with them.

A representative of the Neo Business Bank based in Cyprus told the Cyprus Mail “we never claimed to be a licenced institute in Cyprus. We are not based in Cyprus and we do not operate in Cyprus.”

He added that the company is registered in Canada, where it obtained its licence in December 2022. The company is registered in a strip mall in Thornhill, Ontario, and shares its address with companies by the name of SpiceLogic, Conquest Distributors, Smartvita, and Tango Terminal.

Despite the representative’s assertions, the company’s LinkedIn profile claims it is “headquartered in Canada and Cyprus”.