• President of UOKiK has initiated proceedings against Good Solution Investments Limited, the Kanga Exchange cryptocurrencies exchange operator.
• The charges concern the dissemination of false information about holding the approval of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and the Polish origin of the website.
• The Company is at risk of a fine of up to 10% of its turnover.

Kanga Exchange is a cryptocurrencies exchange which on its website ensured that its “business model” had been approved by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, having notified the PFSA of the dissemination of false information, initiated the proceedings concerning infringement of collective consumer interests. The website operator, that is, Good Solution Investments Limited, had the charges pressed.

- The Kanga Exchange cryptocurrencies exchange has never received the approval it refers to. Moreover, its activities are not subject to supervision or evaluation by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. Providing such information could mislead consumers as to the legality and safety of the operations performed and unlawfully convince the entrepreneur against other entities - says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

The market for cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets is not specifically regulated as it is not part of the financial market within the meaning of the regulations. The PFSA website contains a Warning of the risks associated with the acquisition of and trading in cryptoassets. It follows from the findings of the President of the Office that the information on the alleged approval of the regulator was to be disseminated on kanga.exchange and kangakantor.pl websites.

Another charge concerns the promotion of Kanga Exchange on its website by using the phrase that it is a “Polish cryptocurrencies exchange”. The Kanga Exchange service operator is Good Solution Investments Limited with its registered office in Belize. Importantly, according to the Rules of Procedure, the law applicable to contracts with users is also the Belize law. In this situation, the fact that the person authorised to represent the company is a Polish citizen does not justify, in the opinion of the President of the Office, the dissemination of information on the Polish origin of the product.

- Consumers should be reliably informed about the characteristics of the products and services offered. The indication of false origin of a company misleads consumers and may have an impact on their financial decisions. The contested provision on the “Polish cryptocurrencies exchange” is intended to authenticate the operation of the website. If consumers knew immediately that Polish law was not the law applicable to the performance of the contract with the company, they could take into account economic and legal risks and not decide to use the services offered – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

If charges of infringement of collective consumer interests are confirmed, Good Solution Investments Limited is at risk of a fine of up to 10% of its turnover. The Company also appears on the list of warnings of the PFSA in connection with the functioning of the kanga.exchange website due to the possibility of committing a crime. The case is examined by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw.

This is not the only activity of the President of UOKiK in the market for cryptoassets in recent times. The Office follows, examines and takes action against entrepreneurs who, like Kanga.Exchange, run cryptocurrencies exchanges or encourage “modern” forms of investment using tokens or other cryptoassets. In 2022, the President of UOKiK issued, among others, a decision declaring Coincasso OÜ as violating collective consumer interests and imposed a fine on the company.

Proceedings are underway against Selfmaker Smart Solutions from Dubai and Selfmaker Technology from Łódź. Apart from companies, five entrepreneurs promoting the Selfmaker Smart Solutions partnership programme which may be based on a pyramid promotional system, have also had charges pressed.

For many years, the President of UOKiK has also been conducting educational activities that warn consumers against unreasonable investment of money into so-called alternative investments, including cryptoassets. For example, it was one of the topics of the social campaign of the President of UOKiK “Policz i nie przelicz się” [Calculate and don’t get miscalculated].

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