SEC issues CDO vs RGS World

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cracked down anew on another entity that has been illegally soliciting investments from the public.

The corporate regulator has directed RGS World Marketing Corp. to immediately cease and desist from soliciting and offering for sale securities until it has filed the requisite registration statement and secured the necessary approval from the SEC.

RGS has been targeting investors in Western Visayas.

The company and its directors have likewise been prohibited from transacting any business involving funds in its depository banks, and from transferring, disposing, or conveying any related assets to ensure the preservation of the assets of the investors.

The SEC issued the cease and desist order after investigations by the SEC Enforcement and Investor Protection Department, SEC Bacolod Extension Office (BacEO), and SEC Iloilo Extension Office showed that RGS World has been selling and/or offering compensation plans worth P1,000 to P20,000, with promised returns ranging from P3,500 to P80,000.

“To entice prospective investors into their scheme, directors, agents, promoters, and existing investors of the Bacolod City-based company were found to be using their Facebook accounts to show photos of investors who have allegedly received their payouts,” the SEC said.

According to the SEC’s investigation,  RGS World has been pooling resources from new investors to pay the guaranteed returns of its existing investors.

The SEC has received numerous investors claiming that they have not received the profits or products promised to them.

According to Section 8 of Republic Act 8799, or the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), securities shall not be sold or offered for sale or distribution within the Philippines, without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.

RGS is a duly registered corporation with the SEC but has no secondary license to offer securities to the public.

Records from the Food and Drug Administration also show that RGS World and its affiliated entities have no license to operate a distribution business.

“The SEC holds that the act of RGS World in selling/offering unregistered securities operates as a fraud to the public which, if unrestrained, will likely cause grave or irreparable injury or prejudice to the investing public,” the SEC said.