The Securities and Exchange Commission has made permanent the cease and desist order (CDO) against Casa Infini Builders and Realty Co. Ltd. and Casa Infini Realty Management Co. Ltd. and revoked the corporate registration of Bagong Bansang Maharlika (BBM) International Inc. for operating as a non-government organization without the necessary license.
The SEC has affirmed the issuance of the CDO against Casa Infini, effectively denying the company’s motion to lift the order.
The SEC early in June penalized Casa Infini following the determination by its Enforcement and Investor Protection Department that its officers have been selling securities in the form of investment contracts without a proper license from the agency.
Casa Infini has unwitting asked the public to invest in supposed real estate projects in Baguio City either as buyer-investors or partner financiers. Investors were promised a guaranteed income exceeding P33,000 a month for 20 months on the assurance that the investments financed real estate properties it owned, managed and operated.
In its bid to lift the CDO, Casa Infini said the project is supported by a license issued by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
The business also denied being a Ponzi scheme and that none of its partners have reported damage and only proves that its partner financiers did indeed receive the expected returns, proving the authenticity of the promised profits.
The SEC, however, dismissed the arguments, maintaining that the group was offering securities in the form of investment contracts to the public without the necessary license.
As consequence, the SEC said the cease and desist order dated 8 June 2023 had been made permanent.
In the case of BBM International, the SEC found that the group has been collecting membership fees, promising to provide food security, free education, free hospitalization, cash assistance and livelihood to all Filipinos aged one year and above worldwide.
While BBM International is a registered corporation, activities such as coordinating welfare programs and collecting investments require a secondary license from the appropriate government agencies.
BBM International is only allowed to exercise powers inherent to its existence but it activities show it should register and secure a license from the Department of Social Welfare and Development under the agency’s relevant guidelines.
“These activities were clearly ultra vires acts or acts beyond the corporation’s authority. Evidently, BBM International’s SEC registration was obtained only for the purpose of giving a semblance of legitimacy to the corporation and that the corporation’s activities were sanctioned by the government,” the order noted.
Further, BBM International has been found using President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s image as part of its marketing materials, creating a false impression that its programs are legitimate and sanctioned by the current administration.
“Worse, the use of the President’s picture in the identification cards, tarpaulins and other materials and paraphernalia was done with palpable intent to mislead and deceive the public that the activities undertaken by the corporation are legitimate and are sanctioned by or with the imprimatur of the President or the Marcos administration,” the SEC said.
