RELEASE: THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI JOINS MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL SETTLEMENT WITH GS PARTNERS

Posted on Feb 19, 2025 in News Releases

STATE OF HAWAIʻI

KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS

KA ʻOIHANA PILI KĀLEPA

BUSINESS REGISTRATION DIVISION

 

JOSH GREEN, M.D.

GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

 

NADINE Y. ANDO

DIRECTOR

KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

TY Y. NOHARA

COMMISSIONER OF SECURITIES

THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI JOINS MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL SETTLEMENT WITH GS PARTNERS

Settlement Claims Portal Opens on February 21, 2025

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 19, 2025

 

HONOLULU — The Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), through its Securities Enforcement Branch, joins other U.S. state and provincial securities regulators led by Texas, along with agencies from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas and Georgia, in settling claims against GSB Gold Standard Corporation AG, a German company operating in the fintech and banking industries, GSB Gold Standard Bank LTD dba GS Partners, and Josip Heit, the principal and Chairman of the Board, and other affiliated entities that are often collectively known as “GSB Group” (collectively GS Partners). GS Partners is alleged to have offered and sold unregistered securities, including a variety of crypto-related investments in exchange for lucrative returns, in violation of securities laws.

 

“The Securities Enforcement Branch joined this multi-jurisdictional settlement to allow Hawaiʻi investors to reclaim the funds they invested with GS Partners,” said Commissioner of Securities Ty Y. Nohara. “We strongly encourage Hawaiʻi investors to take advantage of this opportunity to be made whole.”

 

GS Partners claimed to have over 800,000 investors from more than 170 countries and to be close to completing $1 billion in transactions. Many of the products offered to investors were tied to tangible and intangible investments, including digital assets and the metaverse, such as the “G999 token,” a digital asset deployed on a proprietary blockchain; “XLT Vouchers,” a digital asset representing ownership interests in a skyscraper; and investments in a “staking pool” in a metaverse known as “Lydian.World.”

 

Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, GS Partners will provide compensation to eligible Hawaiʻi investors by paying the difference between the value of their investments or deposits and the value of any withdrawals.

 

The Settlement Claims Process:

 

  • The settlement claims process is being managed by AlixPartners, LLP, an independent claims administrator.

 

  • The Claims Portal will open on February 21, 2025, and investors must file a claim within 90 days thereafter to receive a refund.

 

  • All claims must be submitted by May 22, 2025.

 

 

 

If you have questions or concerns about your investments or a financial professional, please contact the DCCA Securities Enforcement Branch at 808-586-2740.

 

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Media Contact:

Communications Office
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs

Phone: 808-586-2760
Email: [email protected]