SEC cancels registration  of Koen Solutions, PMOIT

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cancelled the registration of two companies including a maritime school for unauthorized solicitation of investments.

The two are Koen Solutions OPC and Phil Maritime and Ocean Institute of Technology Inc.  for illegally soliciting investments from the public.

Koen Solutions has been inviting the public to invest in its app for a guaranteed daily income of 2.5 percent to three percent, or a monthly income of 75 percent to 90 percent, depending on options they choose.

The different options supposedly search for and trade cryptocurrencies that could bring stable profits to investors.

However, the SEC said the company does not have the necessary license.

“Considering that nowhere is it stated in its primary purpose that Koen Solutions OPC is authorized to engage in the selling or offering for sale of securities to the public, the activity of  Koen Solutions OPC, of selling, or offering for sale of investments is considered an ultra vires act, and therefore, constitutes serious misrepresentation,” the SEC said.

Meanwhile, PMOIT was found to be inviting the public to invest at least P350,000, in exchange for a 40 percent share in the school’s annual income potentially amounting to P206,000, or a quarterly income of at least P51,000.

The school promised a return on investment within a period of two years.

“The investment schemes of PMOIT and Koen Solutions involve the sale and offer of securities to the public in the form of investment contracts, whereby a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits primarily from the efforts of others,” the SEC said.

The SEC said the investment scheme appears to have the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme which is an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by the new investors.