Rush To Sell Bank Of Asia License
A US-listed shell company, Soulpower Acquisition Corporation, has announced a binding agreement through a Cayman vehicle to acquire the banking licence of the Bank of Asia from its liquidators and to rebrand it as SOUL WORLD BANK. The proposal — which includes plans for an AI-driven, free bank denominated in a new stablecoin and large “real world” asset purchases — is subject to approvals from the BVI Financial Services Commission and further public disclosures.
Soulpower Acquisition Corporation (Soulpower), a publicly listed shell company linked to entrepreneur Justin Lafazan, has announced a binding agreement for SWB LLC, a newly formed Cayman Islands vehicle, to acquire the banking licence of the Bank of Asia from the bank’s liquidators and rename the institution SOUL WORLD BANK (SOUL).
The announcement on November 24 outlines an ambitious plan: SOUL would operate as a free, artificial intelligence-driven bank denominated in a new stablecoin created by the group. Soulpower’s public release values the combined business at roughly US$8.1 billion and says SWB has also entered purchase agreements for mining, mineral rights and large land holdings across the US, Mexico, Germany and Africa.
The group describes those holdings as “Real World Assets” intended for tokenisation and financial engineering (GlobeNewswire). Independent commentator OffshoreAlert has cautioned that Soulpower and SWB appear to be “an obscure group with opaque assets,” raising questions about transparency and the nature of the underlying deals.
The buyer has also announced collaborations with technology partners in Asia and the US to build the proposed bank and related platforms. For BVI residents and stakeholders, the most immediate points are regulatory and practical. The licence transfer and any reopening, rebranding or asset transfers will require approval from the BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the liquidators’ finalisation of terms.
Soulpower says it will release a fuller public disclosure document with details on what depositors and other stakeholders in Bank of Asia will receive — whether cash, shares in the new company or other compensation — but no such document has been published yet. Regulatory scrutiny is likely to focus on the fitness and propriety of the new owners, the safeguards around stablecoin issuance, and the protection of depositors’ interests.
Until the FSC and the liquidators confirm terms and timelines, depositors and local stakeholders should monitor official communications from the liquidators, Soulpower and the FSC. Subject to meeting conditions, including regulatory approvals, Soulpower expects the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2026.
Given the novelty of the proposed AI- and stablecoin-based banking model and questions raised by industry observers, the proposal will draw close attention from regulators and the wider BVI financial community.
Primary source: Guavaberry