Peter Schiff Has a Deal With Puerto Rico to Liquidate His Euro Pacific Bank, He Says

Two months after regulators there suspended the boutique online bank, the outspoken libertarian economist said he had agreed to return $66.7 million in deposits.

Peter Schiff, the libertarian economist and money manager who has been battling banking regulators in Puerto Rico, said Tuesday that he had reached a deal to liquidate his troubled bank.

Mr. Schiff, 59, owns Euro Pacific Bank, a boutique online bank based in San Juan. In 2020, Euro Pacific found itself at the center of an international investigation into whether it had done due diligence on its account holders. An international group of tax authorities known as the J5, which included the Internal Revenue Service, investigated whether the bank had served as a vehicle for suspected tax evasion and money laundering.

In late June, bank regulators in Puerto Rico suspended Euro Pacific, citing “serious insolvency” issues. However, in the settlement reached Tuesday, the bank regulators acknowledged the bank did have cash at hand. In that settlement, Mr. Schiff agreed to return $66.7 million in deposits, using several million in gold to cover any cash shortfalls. He has also agreed to pay $300,000 in fines, according to a copy of the settlement.