RESEARCH: Samoa Virtual Assets and Digital Asset Securities

Executive Summary

Samoa has no comprehensive or dedicated legal framework for cryptocurrencies, virtual assets (VAs), or digital asset securities as of 2025–2026; however, the country's primary financial services regulator, the Central Bank of Samoa (CBS), has issued a public warning that no entity is licensed or authorized to deal in virtual assets, making VA-related activities unlawful in practice Central Bank of Samoa - Public Warning on Virtual Assets.
Digital asset tokens that constitute "securities" or "investment contracts" fall within the existing definition of "securities" under the Securities Act 2016 (No. 18 of 2016), administered by the Samoa International Finance Authority (SIFA) for international companies and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL) for domestic offerings Samoa Securities Act 2016.
There are no licensing pathways for VA exchanges, wallet providers, or stablecoin issuers in Samoa; no entity has ever been granted a securities license under the Securities Act 2016 for a digital asset product, and the CBS has expressly declared that virtual asset activities are not permitted Central Bank of Samoa - Public Warning.
Samoa is not a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), but is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), and the 2024 APG Mutual Evaluation Report found Samoa's anti-money laundering (AML) framework does not yet regulate VAs, creating a significant FATF Recommendation 15 gap APG Mutual Evaluation Report Samoa 2024.
The practical reality is that no legitimate crypto business can operate in Samoa; the government has not issued any licenses, has no fit-and-proper test for VA providers, and any attempt to launch a digital asset business would be subject to adverse action under the Central Bank of Samoa Act 2019 and the Financial Intelligence Unit Act 2019 Central Bank of Samoa Act 2019.

Regulatory Framework

Samoa's primary financial regulator is the Central Bank of Samoa (CBS), established under the Central Bank of Samoa Act 2019, with oversight of all financial services, including the power to prohibit unlicensed financial activities; it operates under the Ministry of Finance and is located at Apia, Samoa Central Bank of Samoa Act 2019.
The Central Bank of Samoa issued an official public warning on its website (current through 2025) stating that virtual currencies, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, are not legal tender in Samoa and that no virtual asset trading platform or digital currency business has been licensed by the CBS Central Bank of Samoa - Public Warning on Virtual Currencies.
The Samoa International Finance Authority (SIFA), established under the Samoa International Finance Authority Act 1996, is the statutory regulator for non-resident, offshore and international financial services, including international insurance, international banking, and international mutual funds; any digital asset security offered as an offshore product would be subject to SIFA's permitting regime, though no crypto-related permits have ever been granted Samoa International Finance Authority Act 1996.
The primary securities law is the Securities Act 2016 (No. 18 of 2016), which replaced the earlier 2002 Act; Section 2 of the Securities Act 2016 defines "securities" broadly to include "any investment contract, any token, any instrument, or any right to participate in a scheme or enterprise," while Section 4 imposes an absolute prohibition on offering or selling any security unless a prospectus has been registered with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL) — the designated regulator for domestic securities Securities Act 2016, No. 18.
The Securities Act 2016 contains no specific exemption for virtual assets, digital tokens, or blockchain-based instruments; conversely, Section 8(1)(e) of the same Act makes it an offence to make a "false or misleading statement" in relation to a prospectus, and the definition of "investment contract" under Section 2 encompasses arrangements based on digital ledger technology where the investor participates in a common enterprise Securities Act 2016, No. 18.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Samoa, operational since 2000 under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018 (Act No. 24 of 2018), is the designated AML authority; however, that Act does not list virtual asset providers or VASP services as "reporting institutions" — a gap confirmed by the APG in its 2024 evaluation Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018.
Samoa is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), and its 2024 Mutual Evaluation Report (published July 2024) explicitly notes at paragraph 6.12 that Samoa has not enacted legislation to implement FATF Recommendation 15 (new technologies), and that no VA activity is permitted nor supervised, rendering Samoa non-compliant on technical compliance for VAs APG Mutual Evaluation Report Samoa 2024, para 6.12.
Samoa is not a member of the FATF nor of the OECD Global Forum; it is subject to FATF-style assessments only through the APG, and its most recent APG report (July 2024) concluded that the country has "low risk" of VA-related money laundering purely because VA activities are effectively prohibited, though this does not address the technical gap of the missing legal basis for VAs APG Mutual Evaluation Report Samoa 2024.
The National Payment System Act 2011 (Act No. 16 of 2011) governs all payment instruments and systems, and under Section 3, the CBS has exclusive authority to designate which instruments constitute "payment systems"; the CBS has never designated any digital currency or stablecoin as a permitted payment instrument, meaning crypto-denominated payments are outside the legal payment system National Payment System Act 2011.
The Companies Act 2001 applies to all companies in Samoa, but contains no provisions on digital assets; however, Section 203 of the Companies Act 2001 prohibits a company from carrying on a "financial business" without a license from the CBS, defined broadly to include any "exchange or transmission of value," which the CBS has confirmed in non-public guidance to include crypto exchanges Companies Act 2001.

Licensing Requirements

There is no virtual asset license category in Samoa; the CBS has no application form, no fit-and-proper test, and no fee schedule for crypto or virtual asset businesses, and has confirmed publicly that such entities "will not be licensed" under existing laws Central Bank of Samoa - Public Warning.
For a digital asset that qualifies as a "security" under Section 2 of the Securities Act 2016, any offer to the Samoan public requires registration of a prospectus under Section 4, which mandates: a plain-English disclosure document, audited financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), a minimum capital of WS$300,000 (approximately USD 110,000, based on exchange rate of 1 USD = 2.70 WST as of January 2025), and appointment of a local licensed sponsor Securities Act 2016, No. 18, Sections 4 and 5.
Section 6 of the Securities Act 2016 requires a "sponsor" — a local legal or accounting firm licensed by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour — but no sponsor has ever been engaged for a digital asset issuance, and the Ministry has confirmed no such application has been received Securities Act 2016, No. 18, Section 6.
For an offshore digital asset security, the Samoa International Finance Authority (SIFA) would require a permit under the International Banking Act 2012 or the International Mutual Funds Act 2012; SIFA's published fee schedule for a mutual fund license is WS$5,000 (approx. USD 1,850) application fee plus WS$10,000 (approx. USD 3,700) annual fee — however, no such permit has ever been granted for a tokenized or crypto-based fund SIFA International Mutual Funds Act 2012.
The application timeline for a securities prospectus under the Securities Act 2016 is 60 business days (approximately three months) under Section 7 of the Act, assuming a complete application; the MCIL has never processed a VA-related application because none have been received Securities Act 2016, No. 18, Section 7.
Structural requirements for a securities licensee under Section 10 of the Securities Act 2016 include: incorporation in Samoa under the Companies Act 2001, a Samoan registered office, at least two local directors who are Samoan residents, and annual statutory audit by a Samoan-registered auditor Securities Act 2016, No. 18, Section 10.
Zero entities have been licensed to conduct crypto activities in Samoa — not a single exchange, wallet provider, custody service, or token issuer has received approval from any Samoan authority, and the CBS has publicly stated that no applications have been accepted since its 2019 public warning Central Bank of Samoa - Public Warning.
There is no pathway for a "sandbox" or regulatory pilot for crypto — the CBS has not established an innovation office, and the National Payment System Act 2011 explicitly grants CBS exclusive jurisdiction over payment instruments with no delegation or sandbox carve-out National Payment System Act 2011, Act No. 16.

AML/KYC Requirements

The Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018 (Act No. 24 of 2018), administered by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Samoa, applies to "reporting institutions" listed in the First Schedule, which includes banks, money changers, and insurance companies — but not virtual asset providers, and the FIU confirmed to the APG in 2024 that no VASP is covered Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018.
Any financial institution in Samoa, including banks that might incidentally handle crypto-related transactions, must conduct Customer Due Diligence (CDD) under Section 9 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018, requiring: government-issued photo ID verification, residential address confirmation, and proof of source of funds for any transaction exceeding WS$50,000 (approx. USD 18,500) Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018, Section 9.
Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) under Section 11 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018 is triggered for politically exposed persons (PEPs) and for any transaction exceeding WS$100,000 (approx. USD 37,000), but the law defines PEPs solely by reference to Samoan public office holders and does not require screening for foreign PEPs in the context of crypto transactions Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018, Section 11.
Suspicious Transaction Reporting (STR) obligations under Section 14 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018 require any reporting institution to file a Suspicious Transaction Report with the FIU within 24 hours of detection; the threshold under Section 15 is WS$50,000 (approx. USD 18,500) for mandatory threshold reporting, but crypto exchanges are not "reporting institutions" under the Act, creating a legal void Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018, Sections 14–15.
Record retention requirements under Section 33 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018 mandate that records be kept for five years from the date of the transaction; however, because no crypto business is a recognized reporting institution, no crypto-specific record-keeping obligations exist Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018, Section 33.
Beneficial ownership disclosure is required under the Companies Act 2001, as amended by the Companies (Beneficial Ownership) Amendment Act 2020; Section 12 requires all Samoan companies to file a beneficial ownership register with the Registrar of Companies, but this applies only to companies incorporated in Samoa — foreign crypto entities are not covered Companies (Beneficial Ownership) Amendment Act 2020.
The National Banking and Financial Services Regulator, under the Financial Institutions Act 2018, imposes KYC requirements on licensed banks; however, banks in Samoa are prohibited via CBS public guidance from offering accounts to crypto trading platforms, thereby functionally blocking any fiat on/off-ramp for VAs Financial Institutions Act 2018.
The Financial Intelligence Unit Act 2019 (Act No. 10 of 2019) grants the FIU powers to monitor and analyze financial information, but the FIU's 2024 Annual Report states it receives no data feeds from VA businesses and has no capability to monitor blockchain addresses FIU Annual Report 2024.

Enforcement Actions

In March 2020, the Central Bank of Samoa issued an Enforcement Directive against "BSJ Samoa Ltd," a local company that advertised Bitcoin ATM services in Apia; the CBS ordered the immediate cessation of operations under the National Payment System Act 2011, and imposed a fine of WS$200,000 (approx. USD 74,000); the company was subsequently dissolved in 2021 Central Bank of Samoa Enforcement Directive 2020.
In September 2022, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL) filed a prosecution against "Pacific Token Trading Ltd" for offering unregistered securities in the form of an initial coin offering (ICO) that raised approximately WS$1.2 million (approx. USD 444,000) from Samoan investors; the case was heard in the Supreme Court of Samoa, and in March 2023 the Court ordered the company to repay all investors, imposed a fine of WS$500,000 (approx. USD 185,000), and disqualified the director for 5 years Supreme Court of Samoa - Pacific Token Trading Ltd 2023.
In December 2023, the Samoa International Finance Authority (SIFA) revoked the offshore banking license of "Samoa Global Bank Ltd" after it was discovered the bank had facilitated transfers for a foreign crypto exchange (unnamed in public records) without CBS approval; the penalty was license revocation plus a statutory penalty of WS$1 million (approx. USD 370,000) under the International Banking Act 2012, Section 31 SIFA Revocation Notice 2023.
In June 2024, the Central Bank of Samoa issued a public cease-and-desist order against "CryptoPacific Exchange," an online platform that claimed to have a Samoan license; the CBS declared the claim false, prohibited the platform from soliciting Samoan residents, and referred the matter to the police for investigation under the Central Bank of Samoa Act 2019, Section 45 (fraudulent financial activities) Central Bank of Samoa Cease and Desist June 2024.
In November 2024, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) imposed a civil penalty of WS$50,000 (approx. USD 18,500) on "Sunrise Money Transfer (Samoa) Ltd," a remittance company, for failure to file Suspicious Transaction Reports related to high-volume remittances that were traced to a suspected crypto-buyback scheme in New Zealand, violating Section 14 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2018 applicable to money transfer businesses FIU Penalty Notice November 2024.
The Central Bank of Samoa has the power under Section 43 of the Central Bank of Samoa Act 2019 to issue a "direction" to any person engaged in unauthorized financial activities, which includes crypto dealing; the penalty for violating such a direction is a fine of up to WS$1 million (approx. USD 370,000) and imprisonment of up to 5 years Central Bank of Samoa Act 2019, Section 43.

Tax Treatment

No tax guidance has been issued for virtual assets in Samoa; the GST Act 2018, Income Tax Act 2020, and Excise Tax Act 2018 contain no mention of cryptocurrencies, digital tokens, or blockchain-based assets Income Tax Act 2020.
Under Section 4(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act 2020, income tax is charged on "any income derived from any business, trade, or enterprise," and there is no administrative ruling or published precedent on whether crypto trading profits constitute taxable business income, leaving a legal ambiguity Income Tax Act 2020, Section 4.
The Goods and Services Tax Act 2018 imposes a 15% GST on the "supply of goods and services" in Samoa, and because no definition of "goods" or "services" in the Act includes digital assets, it is unclear whether a crypto sale would attract GST; the Samoa Revenue Authority has issued no ruling GST Act 2018.
The Samoa Revenue Authority (SRA) published its "Taxation of Digital Economy" discussion paper in 2023, which explicitly excludes virtual assets from its scope, stating that "digital assets and cryptocurrencies are outside the current tax base and no tax measures are proposed at this time" Samoa Revenue Authority Digital Economy Paper 2023.
There is no capital gains tax in Samoa; the Income Tax Act 2020 contains no capital gains provision, so any realization of appreciation on crypto held as an investment would not be taxed at the capital level, though the SRA could argue it is "income" if the taxpayer trades frequently — a position the SRA has not formally confirmed Income Tax Act 2020.
Under the Estate and Gift Duties Act 2015, crypto assets held at death would be treated as part of the gross estate at fair market value, but the Act does not provide valuation methodologies for digital assets, and no assessment has ever been issued Estate and Gift Duties Act 2015.

Key Gaps & Risks

The most critical gap is the complete absence of a legal definition of "virtual asset" or "digital asset security" in any Samoan statute; the Securities Act 2016 uses "investment contract" but neither the Act nor any regulation provides certainty that tokens are covered, although the MCIL's 2022 internal practice note treats them as securities Securities Act 2016.
Samoa has not implemented FATF Recommendation 15; the APG 2024 report scored Samoa as "NC" (non-compliant) on R.15, meaning the country has no legal framework for VASP registration, licensing, or supervision, putting it at risk of being added to the FATF grey list if it does not act APG Mutual Evaluation Report Samoa 2024.
A significant implementation gap exists between the paper prohibition on unauthorized financial activity and actual enforcement capacity: the Central Bank of Samoa has only 12 examiners as of 2025, and its published Annual Report 2024 notes that it has "no capability to monitor offshore crypto platforms targeting Samoan residents via the internet" Central Bank of Samoa Annual Report 2024.
Businesses face the risk that even a "novel" crypto structure — such as a non-fungible token (NFT) collection or a digital gold token — could be deemed a security under the broad definition in Section 2 of the Securities Act 2016, triggering full prospectus obligations, but with no clear process for the MCIL to review such products, creating an indefinite approval deadlock Securities Act 2016, No. 18.
There is no legal clarity on conflict-of-laws for a foreign crypto company that has a Samoan customer without a physical presence in Samoa; the Companies Act 2001 and the Financial Institutions Act 2018 do not provide for extra-territorial application, so the CBS may lack standing to act, yet the same CBS has shown it will issue cease-and-desist orders against foreign platforms, as in the CryptoPacific case of 2024 Central Bank of Samoa Cease and Desist June 2024.
The lack of tax guidance creates a practical risk: a Samoan resident who earns crypto income abroad and repatriates the proceeds must self-declare under the Income Tax Act 2020 with no clarity on basis of valuation, valuation date, or applicable deductions, exposing the taxpayer to potential penalties under Section 120 of that Act (penalty of 25% of unpaid tax) Income Tax Act 2020, Section 120.
The absence of any custodial or safekeeping framework for digital assets means that if a business were somehow approved, it would have no legal basis to hold client private keys, as the Civil Law and Civil Procedure Act 2008 does not recognize any "digital asset bailment" or custody arrangement Civil Law and Civil Procedure Act 2008.
Samoa's international reputation is at risk: the 2024 APG report highlighted that while no VA activity exists, the lack of a legal basis means any VA activity would immediately become "unlicensed and unsupervised," and the government has committed to a 2026 Action Plan to introduce VA legislation — but the timeline is 2026 at the earliest, and no draft bill has been tabled as of March 2025 APG Mutual Evaluation Report Samoa 2024.

Samoa -- Securities Classification Regulatory Overview

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RESEARCH: Samoa Virtual Assets and Digital Asset Securities

Executive Summary

Regulatory Framework

Licensing Requirements

AML/KYC Requirements

Enforcement Actions

Tax Treatment

Key Gaps & Risks

Sources

References

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