Comoros Denounces Anjouan Gambling 'Licences' and Seeks UK Assistance

The government of the Union of the Comoros has told UK authorities that a licensing regime run in the name of Anjouan is unauthorised and has asked for help with criminal and financial-intelligence cooperation, the Guardian reported on 19 October 2026. The Banque Centrale des Comores said "illegal activities" are being carried out by people "abusively using the name of the Comoros Islands", and the government has identified "British citizens" in connection with the scheme.

What the Comorian authorities say

A spokesperson for the Banque Centrale des Comores told the Guardian the Anjouan-linked licensing operation amounts to illegal activities that give operators an appearance of legitimacy while using the Comoros name without authority. The central bank said the government is preparing judicial action in Comoros and has asked the UK government and its law enforcement bodies for assistance, including financial intelligence and police collaboration.

The central bank first warned the public in a communiqué signed by Governor Younoussa Imani on 15 June 2022 about "fictitious structures" claiming to grant banking and financial licences in the Comoros. That communiqué explicitly named the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority and Anjouan Corporate Services and stated such licensing was the exclusive remit of the central bank; the finance ministry republished the communiqué on 10 December 2025. The 2022 notice addressed banking and financial licences and did not mention gaming, but Comorian officials now treat the Anjouan regime as operating without legal standing.

The London link and company filings

The Guardian reports that ACS Global Custodian Ltd, a UK company now named in Companies House filings, is linked to the Anjouan Corporate Services website. Companies House records show the company was incorporated in 2017 as Global Custodian Ltd and was renamed ACS Global Custodian Ltd in November 2025. Its balance sheet to 31 October 2025 records cash at bank of £614,827, up from £13,130 the previous year, and net assets of £590,618; no profit and loss account was filed in that return.

Harold Sorsky, identified by the Guardian as connected to the Sherm Group and family stakes in the London company, denied that ACS sells gaming licences. He said, "ACS Global Custodian Ltd does not sell, issue, or otherwise provide gaming licences and has not done so since we took over the company in 2023," adding that references to ACS supporting gaming applications predated the delegation of that function to another provider. The Guardian says ACS is based in Sherm Group's London address in Finchley and that four members of the Sorsky family have owned stakes in the company.

The Anjouan register and industry response

Anjouan Gaming's public register now lists nearly 1,500 licence holders, the Guardian reports, up from more than 1,300 cited by SBC News in June 2026. The register lists companies, frequently incorporated in Panama, Belize and Costa Rica. The best-known name on the register is BC.Game; several other operators promoted as "not on GamStop" also appear.

Anjouan Gaming and the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority present a model in which applicants submit documentation to Anjouan Corporate Services, which on the Guardian's account offers "expert guidance" for £19,000 and does not identify individuals behind the service. Anjouan Gaming told SBC News in a LinkedIn statement on 10 June that its licence "is not, and has never been presented as, a universal authorisation to operate in every country in the world", and that licensees remain responsible for lawful conduct in their chosen markets.

Industry participants quoted in coverage drew attention to price differentials. One industry source at iGB Live asked why an operator would pay £80,000 for a Curaçao licence when an Anjouan licence costs £20,000, while Alun Bowden of Eilers & Krejcik Gaming told the Guardian that a licence can offer "a degree of reassurance" to banks and payment providers.

Enforcement and the UK question

The Comoros locating a UK nexus and requesting UK assistance focuses pressure on London because a UK-registered company is easier to examine than licensees incorporated in distant offshore jurisdictions. Which UK body would act, and on what legal basis, is not self-evident: the Gambling Commission regulates operators offering gambling to British consumers, not companies providing foreign certificates or advisory services. The Comoros' request references police and financial-intelligence cooperation, indicating it is pursuing the matter as a question of alleged financial crime rather than a primary UK gambling enforcement issue.

Payments, suppliers and credibility

The Banque Centrale des Comores' explicit disavowal of the authority behind Anjouan licences creates a sovereign record that payment platforms, game suppliers and advertising partners can cite when assessing whether an Anjouan certificate should be treated as evidence of lawful supervision. The Guardian's reporting and the central bank's communiqué together mean a sovereign authority has publicly declared the structures fictitious; whether that translates into concrete action will depend on the outcomes of the Comoros' judicial steps and any cooperation from UK authorities.

"The regime constitutes illegal activities by those abusively using the name of the Comoros Islands," a Banque Centrale des Comores spokesperson told the Guardian.

"ACS Global Custodian Ltd does not sell, issue, or otherwise provide gaming licences and has not done so since we took over the company in 2023," Harold Sorsky told the Guardian.

What is on public record

Key documents and public records cited in coverage include the Banque Centrale des Comores communiqué of 15 June 2022 (republished 10 December 2025), Companies House filings for ACS Global Custodian Ltd, Anjouan Gaming company materials, and the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority's statements about issuing banking, gaming, brokerage, crypto and insurance licences on behalf of Anjouan. The Guardian's investigation published on 19 October 2026 aggregates those records and related industry checks.

Eleanor Whitfield, Regulatory Affairs Correspondent.