Yemisi Izuora
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has discovered another suspected illegal investment platform identified as Tofro.com (Tofro).
The Commission raised the alarm in a notice on Thursday during which it warned Nigerians against falling for their tactics to obtain money from them through the promise of unusually high returns.
The SEC said that the suspected investment platform holds itself out as a cryptocurrency trading platform, adding the investment scheme was not registered by the commission.
It said that based on its investigations, Tofro’s operations exhibited the typical indicators of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme.
According to the SEC, it promises unusually high returns, heavy reliance on a referral system to sustain payouts, and failure to honour withdrawal requests from subscribers. SEC, however, strongly advised Nigerians to be wary of investing with Tofro, noting that any person who places such investment with the entity does so at their own risk.
The notice read, “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of an online platform known as tofro.com (Tofro), which holds itself out as a cryptocurrency trading platform. The commission hereby informs the public that the Tofro is not registered by the commission either to solicit investments from the public or operate in any other capacity within the Nigerian capital market.
“Investigations have revealed that Tofro’s operations exhibit the typical indicators of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme, including the promise of unusually high returns, heavy reliance on a referral system to sustain pay-outs and failure to honour withdrawal requests from subscribers. Accordingly, the public is strongly advised to be wary about investing with Tofro, as any person who places such investment with the entity, does so at his/her own risk.
The Commission similarly reminds potential investors of the need to verify the registration status of investment platforms via the commission’s dedicated portal before transacting with them.” The SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, said that Nigerians needed to understand the dangers of putting their hard-earned money in ventures not registered or regulated by the commission.