Authorities in Philippines warn that Cryptocurrency fraudsters will face long time in jail.

Authorities in Philippines warn that Cryptocurrency fraudsters will face long time in jail.

The Enforcement and Investors Protection Department a section of the Philippines Security and Exchange Commission has issued a warning to fourteen cryptocurrency investment companies in the country to abstain from requesting funds from domestic investors.

The commission gave this warning in a notice on its website on Wednesday 18th of April where it disclosed that ongoing investigation reveals that some individuals working for unregistered “online investment entities” are persuading members of the public to invest in their products claiming unrealistic returns ranging from 10% to 200% per month.

The advisory body warns the general public to be wary of the unregistered online investment whose modus operandi involves asking prospective investors to deposit their initial investment funds to a specific bank account; Coins.Ph account, GCash or through a money remittance company or through face-to-face payments with one of the entity’s agents.

The investments companies warned by the regulatory body includes: NewG, Smart Capital, Gener8X, Paid2Prosper, CMT (Coins and Mining Trading), PSO (PSOPOWER Apps), TradeConnect, IronTrading (Team Bangon), ExpertTrading, OneCash, Lucky Coins, Miner’s Investment Group, Digital Coin Trading and All Pal for All Seasons

After payment, the prospective investor would be requested to send a copy of their proof of payment through a private message to the company after which a confirmation and validation is received, the commission disclosed. It further revealed that such investment schemes involving transactions with digital currencies or traditional payment method are considered as securities and subject to the regulatory authority of the Commission in Philippine.

The commission further warned that any agent or dealer representing any of the investment entities enticing people to invest in its schemes through the internet or physically could be held liable for criminal charges according to the country’s Securities Regulation Code filed under the section 28. The individual could be fined a maximum of Five Million Pesos (P 5,000,000.00) or imprisonment of Twenty One (21) years.

Furthermore, those who recruit other people to partake on the scheme may be held criminally liable or accordingly sanctioned or penalized in accordance with the Supreme Court decision in the case of SEC vs. Oudine Santos (G.R. No. 195542, March 19, 2014).

The Philippines Security Exchange Commission is active in sanitizing the country’s investment and trading sector. Also on Wednesday, the commission notified the general public against investing their funds on cloud mining companies that advertise on the social media. The SEC has also warned unregistered exchanges could face serious legal consequence under the Philippines law.

Solomon Sunny is the market reporter for Smartereum, one of the global leaders in Ethereum, blockchain and currency news. He produces technical price updates on digital currencies and writes recent developments about blockchain.

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