THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised the flag against Daily Passive Btc Ltd, which it said is operating an unlicensed investment scheme.
In an advisory on its website, the country’s corporate regulator warned the public against engaging with people representing Daily Passive and are offering investment packages.
It said this group is operated by the same people behind Bitrade/Bitrade Bitcoin Trading Ltd/Bitrade Ltd Ph, which the SEC had tagged as an unlicensed investment group in March.
The regulator said Daily Passive does not have a registration with the commission and is not authorized to solicit investments from the public.
Through its investigation, the SEC found that the group operates through Facebook accounts run by different individuals, and offers several investment packages worth P1,000 to P100,000.
It promises guaranteed returns of 40% per month and offers other ways to earn such as by recruitment and referrals.
Operating this business without a license from the SEC is a violation of the Securities Regulation Code, and may result in a maximum fine of P5 million, imprisonment of up to 21 years, or both. The SEC warned that the penalty applies for all individuals that acted as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of Daily Passive.
It also said the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, or the government’s emergency law in response to the coronavirus pandemic, punishes cyber crimes that take advantage of the crisis through scams, phishing, fraudulent emails and other similar activities.
“[T]he public is hereby advised to stop investing and exercise self-restraint from investing their money into such high-yield risk investment scheme and to take the necessary precautions in dealing with the above-named entity,” the SEC said. — Denise A. Valdez
