The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it will intensify its collaboration with the Economic Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to unmask faceless individuals behind activities of online ponzi schemes in the country.
SEC’s notice followed an investigation carried out by the two institutions that uncovered 17 unlicensed investment companies operating in the country.
The Director-General of SEC, Rev. Daniel OgbarmeyTetteh, in a recorded video made available to the Ghanaian Times said the move was necessary to rebuild confidence in the investment market.
He said the investigation team was working with the security services and other stakeholders to track the culprits to face the full rigours of law.
“Our investigation team is actually being proactive to pick up such schemes that may be operating under-ground and again expose them. We believe that when we expose them, we will reduce their effectiveness,” he said.
He added that it is important for the regulatory authority to remove fake investment schemes in the market to attract more investors into the country.
“We are not going to relent in our efforts to see the possibilities of tracking the culprits behind this case. We will continue to keep our eyes on the grounds,” he assured.
Providing some updates on works undertaken with some security agencies, Rev. Tetteh stated that the next step is to publish and prosecute everybody connected with fake investment schemes in the country.
He said SEC would continue to educate the public and alert the police to quickly move in to stop fraudulent people from deceiving unsuspecting investors.
“We will continue to alert the public and then reduce the number of people being scammed. We have intensified our collaboration with the security agencies to achieve this target,” he said.
Rev. Tetteh pledged to work with EOCO and other stakeholders to ensure that fake and fraudulent schemes are removed from the investment market.
The two institutions have warned the public to desist from investing in some 17 unlicensed investment firms through online channels.
The SEC and EOCO have warned the public to desist from investing in 17 unlicensed investment products through online channels.
The warning comes on the back of a joint investigation carried out by the commission and EOCO.
The unlicensed companies include PatronPay Ghana, Cedi Network Ghana, Bitcash Investment, Solmax Group, Freedom Synergy, FxKash Investment, and Binomo Investment.
The rest are Hi Pay, Quick Earn, Lite Earn, Snap Finance, Faucet Wealth Investment, Opay Investment, Payme Financial Services, Passive Income, Yvonne Hanson Deals and Alpha Pa.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE