The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against illegal entities which use new technologies in luring investments.
In an advisory, SEC advised people not to invest or stop investing in these entities and to exercise caution in dealing with individuals or groups involved. Among those that the agency identified were Delta Crypt Limited, INVEXPERT, and The Billion Coin (TBC).
The agency said that these entities are not authorized to “solicit, accept, or take investments/placements from the public nor to issue investment contracts and other forms of securities,” as stated in the Section 3 of the Republic Act 8799 or the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).
It added that these groups are not authorized to solicit investments because they have not secured necessary registration and license to operate, according to Section 8 of SRC.
The report said that TBC, a group operated by Kris Kringle, is not included in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ list of registered banks, exchanges or companies engaged in digital assets, as well as in the list of generally accepted virtual currencies as posted on the World Coin Index and Coin Market Cap websites.
Delta Crypt, which poses as a private limited company registered in England and Wales, entices investors by offering investment plans promising 104-6000% after one to 90 days for a deposit of $10 to $100,000.
They also offer VIP plans where investors are promised a 500% to 3,000% return after five to 20 days for a minimum investment of $5,000 and a maximum of $50,000.
The company allegedly “engages in the trading of cryptocurrency on the world’s largest trading platforms.”
INVEXPERT also offers similar investment plans with returns from 104% extending to 3,000% in one to 30 days for a deposit of $500 to $100,000.
In its website, it is said that the company is registered in the United Kingdom and it invests in startups in fast growing industries such as AI, Internet of Things, robotics, biotechnology, and financial technology.
On the other hand, TBC claims “TBCoin as a true and decentralized cryptocurrency that aims to revolutionize the global financial system in order to eradicate world poverty.”
The value of TBCoin is based on the number of its users, holders, or investors, thus an “Abundance-based Cryptocurrency,” in contrast to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies that strictly follow market-driven norms.
The group claims that the value of TBCoin will never drop and shall be consistently growing by 1-5% daily until it reaches €1 billion per TBCoin. Its value is derived by multiplying the number of investors by €1.
In the Philippines, the group offers investment packages ranging from P100 to P25,000 with a promise of a 100% return every 25 days along with bonuses and leverages.
People involved in those entities such as salesmen, brokers, dealers, or agents in selling or
enticing people to invest may be held criminally liable under Section 28 of the SRC and
penalized with a maximum of P5,000,000 and/or 21 years imprisonment, according to the
Section 73 of the SRC.
Aside from that, they may also be penalized with two months imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of P1,000,000 under Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
Those who have information on the activities or involved persons with the aforementioned entities are urged to contact the EIPD at (02) 8818-6047 or at epd@sec.gov.ph.
