THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revoked the corporate registrations of Koen Solutions OPC and Phil Maritime and Ocean Institute of Technology, Inc. (PMOIT) for illegally soliciting investments from the public.
In a press release on Thursday, the SEC said Koen Solutions violated Section 44 of the Revised Corporation Code and Sections 8, 26 and 28 of the Securities Regulation Code.
The SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) found out that Koen Solutions had been inviting the public to invest in its application for a guaranteed 2.5% to 3% daily income or 75% to 90% monthly income.
Interested individuals must put in money on “financial trading robots” which supposedly search for and trade cryptocurrencies that bring profits to investors.
On Sep. 9, the regulator issued an advisory against Koen Solutions that also directed it to stop soliciting investments until it has secured the license to do so.
Koen Solutions continued to sell investments, the SEC said, adding that the entity claimed to have applied for a secondary license.
“Considering that nowhere is it stated in its primary purpose that Koen Solutions is authorized to engage in the selling or offering for sale of securities to the public, the activity of Koen Solutions of selling, or offering for sale of investments is considered an ultra vires act,” the SEC order read.
Meanwhile, Phil Maritime was found to be enticing the public to invest P350,000 for a 40% share in the school’s annual income, translating into a P206,000 share or a quarterly income of at least P51,000.
The promised return on investment supposedly comes from the school’s revenues, earnings from its training center, dormitory revenues, and earnings from the school’s commercial center.
“This scheme is unsustainable, as it must rely on a continuous inflow of new investors in order to make payouts to earlier investors, all the more made glaring considering that it has no actual operations yet to speak of,” the EIPD said.
On Sep. 13, the SEC issued an advisory against PMOIT and advised the public not to invest in the group.
The regulator said the investment schemes of PMOIT and Koen Solutions involve the sale and offer of securities to the public in the form of investment contracts that are required to be registered with the commission.
“The certificates of incorporation of Koen Solutions OPC and PMOIT have thus been revoked, with such status caused to be reflected on the online database of the SEC,” the regulator said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
