The Tongan government has created a committee to look at potential foreign investors following recent confusion regarding a proposed casino.
Last week, a native American company, Red Warrior Entertainment, claimed that it had reached an agreement to build a gaming resort in Tonga.
But the government came out to deny this, reaffirming that gambling is illegal in Tonga.
The chief executive of the Ministry of Revenue, 'Anisi Bloomfield, said he suspects the announcement was made to try and garner overseas financial support.
He said the government has responded by setting up a committee that all prospective investors and developers must now go through.
"People just come in, getting what they want, and then they take that piece of paper," Mr Bloomfield said.
"They are not the actual investor, they are middle men.
"They take that piece of paper and they go overseas and look for investors to get their financial support for a project and it ends up sometimes the project does not materialise and the money goes to somewhere else."
Photo: Ministry of Revenue CEO 'Anisi Kulu Bloomfield