The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has cautioned the public against investing and patronising two companies operating illegal online investment schemes.
The companies, Royal Gardens Network and Hubtel Mobile Money Lending, have been found to be operating Ponzi schemes.
A statement signed and issued in Accra yesterday by Faustina Lartey, Head of Public Affairs, EOCO, said the companies were neither registered by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) nor the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
It said the two companies were also not registered with the Registrar General’s Department.
“Checks have established that Royal Gardens Network and Hubtel Mobile Money Lending have not been registered to operate as online investment companies and that they only exist in the virtual space ostensibly to defraud unsuspecting victims,” the statement added.
It noted that EOCO, have for some time, been monitoring the activities of the two online investment schemes
The statement said the modus operandi of the companies was to entice victims to invest in the companies while promising them high returns.
This, it indicated, was carried through the use of mobile money and WhatsApp platform channels.
“Once they have defrauded their victims, they immediately close and delete the WhatsApp group.
A different group is subsequently created with new members and the cycle is repeated,” the statement added.
The statement advised the public to desist from investing and patronising the companies which have been found to be operating a ponzi/pyramid scheme.
It noted that EOCO would continue to monitor online investments with the view to ensuring that citizens were protected from scammers and fraudsters in line with its mandate to prevent and detect organised crime.
BY TIMES REPORTER
