The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) have warned the public to desist from investing in all unlicensed investment products through online channels.

The warning comes on the back of a joint investigation carried out by the Commission and EOCO revealing that some 17 Entities operating through online channels are not licensed.

According to a joint statement by the two institutions, “the companies are not licensed to operate hence the general public, capital market operators and investors should desist from investing with such firms”.

It pointed out that “the Securities and Exchange Commission together with the Economic and Organized Crime Office are in collaboration with relevant law enforcement agencies to ensure rigorous enforcement of all securities laws for operators in the capital market to promote an orderly growth and development of an efficient, fair, and transparent securities market”. 

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.

The SEC further said “an essential obligation of the SEC stipulated in Section 3(b) of Act 929 is to maintain surveillance over activities in securities to ensure orderly, fair, and equitable dealings in securities. The SEC is also mandated to protect investors by publishing at regular intervals information to the public to inform their investment decisions”.

It added that Section 2(a) of the Economic and Organised Crime Act 2010 (Act 804) gives EOCO the mandate of preventing and detecting Organised Crime.

Furthermore, the statement said EOCO under Section 3(d) of Act 804 has a function of taking reasonable measures to prevent the commission of crimes specified in Section 3(a) – financial or economic loss to the Republic or any State entity or institution in which the State has financial interest, money laundering, human trafficking, prohibited cyber activity, tax fraud, and other serious offences.

The SEC and EOCO stressed that the public is hereby advised to be vigilant and to desist from investing in all unlicensed investment products.

“Capital Market Operators, Investors, and the General Public should be assured that the SEC in collaboration with all relevant law enforcement agencies is committed to ensuring the rigorous enforcement of all the securities laws for operators in the Capital Market to promote an orderly growth and development of an efficient, fair, and transparent securities market in which investors and the integrity of the market are protected", the statement concluded.