After it was proven that the company had been operating in the country without the proper licenses from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Monetary Board has disqualified Riyben Foreign Exchange and its affiliates from obtaining registration from the Central Bank in the future. 

Riyben Foreign Exchange’s Disqualification

In a statement, the Monetary Board explained that the exchange operated as a Money Service Business (MSB) without prior BSP registration. The Monetary Board is the agency responsible for making policy decisions related to the management, operation, and administration of the Central Bank. 

Aside from the exchange itself, the agency also prohibited its affiliates and its registered owner, named Benjamin De Guzman San Juan, from registering with the BSP.

“The above disqualification is pursuant to Section 901-N of the BSP’s Manual of 

Regulations for Non-Bank Financial Institutions, and is part of the BSP’s efforts to 

address the proliferation of entities engaged in the operation of unauthorized

MSBs,” the monetary agency explained. 

Riyben Foreign Exchange is a forex firm based in Cavite with a branch in Olivarez Plaza, San Jose Tagaytay City.

What is a Money Service Business? 

As defined by the BSP, an MSB is a type of non-bank financial institution that provides services such as remittance, money transfer, foreign exchange, and virtual assets. Entities that have secured a BSP license are also required to register with the Secretary of the Anti-Money Laundering Council before operating. MSBs include the following entities:

Some of the categories that are required to register as an MSB include: 

• Remittance and Transfer Companies and Money or Value Transfer Services that accept monetary instruments for payment to a beneficiary.
• Remittance Direct Agents and Sub-Agents that remit on behalf of a party engaged in the remittance business.
• E-Money issuers that provide money transfer or remittance services using an electronic money stored value system.
• Remittance Agent Network Providers, who provide the network for remittance or transfer transactions.
• Remittance Platform Providers that provide a common platform and maintain settlement accounts for remittance transactions.
• Money Changers and Foreign Exchange Dealers, who buy or sell fiat currency in exchange for the currency of another country.
• Virtual Assets Service Providers that deal with virtual assets and cryptocurrency.

Recent BSP Actions Against Unregistered MSBs

This is not the first time that the Monetary Board has sanctioned an unregistered MSB. 

Last July, the agency also disqualified Bontoy Money Changer and owner Mohammad Sauti, Nurul Money Changing Services and owner Yaser Pacundo, Globexmc Foreign Exchange Services and owner Shelly Thilla, J-Mar Foreign Exchange Service Money Changer and owner Mary Grace Santos, and Mariada Money Exchange and owner Rauf Mohammad. 

The same sanctions were imposed on the mentioned entities. 

Read more: BSP Bans 6 Entities for Operating as Unregistered MSBs

This article is published on BitPinas: No Room for Non-Compliance: BSP Shuts Down Riyben Foreign Exchange

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