The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Tuesday it revoked the corporate registration of Procap International and Ray International Philippines Corp. over alleged llegal solicitation of investments from the public.
The SEC said it revoked the certificate of incorporation of Procap for violating Section 44 of Republic Act No. 11232, or the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (RCC) in relation to Section 6 (i), paragraph 2 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 902-A.
It said it also ordered Procap International, its president and nominees, to pay P1 million as administrative sanction.
The SEC said that while the company was prohibited from soliciting investments from the public and issuing investment contracts due to lack of secondary license, it was found to be selling securities in the form of investment contracts through policy plans, promising investors 0.2 percent up to 1.4 percent guaranteed daily income depending on their chosen policy.
The SEC also noted that Procap’s operation had the characteristics of a Ponzi scheme where the earnings of early investors are funded using the investments of new investors.
The SEC, along with other law enforcement agencies, conducted an entrapment operation in October last year against Procap in October during an event it organized in a hotel in Makati City due to its illegal investment solicitation activities. This led to the arrest of 20 individuals including its directors, incorporators, agents and employees.
Meanwhile, the SEC also issued a revocation order against Ray International Philippines for alleged serious misrepresentation, which is a violation of Section 6(i), paragraph 2 and Section 3 of PD 902-A.
Jenniffer B. Austria
Ray International, which does business under the names and styles of Ray Education Directions Consultancy Services, Be Unrivaled Productions and Sine Cordillera, was also found to be soliciting investments without approval from the commission.