In the beginning of this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it had found fraud, and other violations of securities laws committed by Philippine-registered trading firm PIPC Corp., its officers and agents.
The Singaporean owner of parent company of PIPC Corp., – Performance Investment Products Corp. (PIPC) is registered in the British Virgin Islands, – reportedly vanished with at least $250 million of investors’ money. Both Philippines trading firm and its BVI parent company were also charged in August by the National Bureau of Investigation with syndicated fraud, along with 32 officers, incorporators and employees.
In the complaint filed with the Department of Justice, the SEC found that the Philippines company was liable for fraudulent transactions and violation of provisions of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), concerning the illegal sale of unregistered securities, registering brokers and agents to solicit investments. The Commission said that the fraud, “chicanery†and other violations of securities laws were “orchestrated and executed by the officers and agents of PIPC Corp. against their unsuspecting investors.
The allegations are based on the fact that neither PIPC Corp. nor its officers, employees and agents were registered as brokers or dealers, so they made their transactions of offering and selling securities to the public a “violation of the provisions of the SRC.†The illegal offer or sale of securities in the form of a “Portfollio Management Partnership Agreement†to the public was continuing for nine years, masked by a supposed offshore foreign currency trading scheme promising profits at an annual rate of 12 – 18%.
According to SEC documents, while PIPC Corp. was registered with the commission, the solicitation and sale of securities was contrary to the purpose for which it was established – just a financial research.
There were 32 complaint-affidavits filed with the SEC, with total investments amounting to roughly $3.8 mln. SEC violations are punishable by a fine of between P50,000 and P5 million or imprisonment of between 7 and 21 years.