Foreign brokers have subverted domestic securities regulations by offering investment products online without proper Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), forcing government agencies in recent weeks to block certain websites and mobile phone applications.
According to the SEC, the foreign entities offer investment opportunities to Filipinos without the necessary license and forced the regulator to seek National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) assistance by blocking the websites.
The request particularly relate to the website of MiTrade which the SEC said the NTC quickly acted on.
On February 21, the NTC issued a memorandum to all internet service providers, directing them to immediately block the websites and apps of MiTrade.
“We thank the NTC for supporting our campaign against investment scams and other predatory financial schemes toward the protection of the investing public.” SEC chairman Emilio B. Aquino said.
“The directive of the NTC will greatly help in preventing the proliferation of investment scams. The SEC and NTC will continue to work closely together to take similar actions on other platforms facilitating illegal investment-taking activities and other predatory financial schemes,” he said.
The SEC found that MiTrade actively employs promotional campaigns on various social media platforms to attract and entice Filipinos to engage in investment and trading activities using its platforms.
MiTrade offers the trading of financial instruments from a wide range of asset classes such as foreign currency pairs, foreign shares, index funds, and commodity derivatives.
The regulator noted MiTrade appear to be registered brokers and dealers overseas and that the securities and investments they offer appear registered in various countries.
In the Philippines the Securities Regulation Code requires the prior registration with the SEC of any securities for public sale.
