Public warned against unlicensed Fidelity Capital Investment Group
The Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana (SEC) is cautioning the public against investing with Fidelity Capital Investment Group, an entity said to be operating in a manner similar to a Ponzi scheme by promising unusually high returns through platforms such as Telegram.
Deputy Director-General of the SEC, Mensah Thompson, in a Citi Business News interview said the company is not licensed by the regulator to operate in Ghana’s capital market.
He urged the public to exercise caution and avoid committing funds to unregulated investment schemes, warning that such offers often pose significant risks to investors’ capital.
“Anybody who comes to you with an investment portfolio promising 20 to 50 percent in this current economic condition is a huge red flag and you must completely flag it by not putting your money in it. Again, we always tell people who are in doubt, always reach out to the SEC to verify.”
“We have had a number of complaints of people who have invested in these platforms and the next day they go and the platform has disappeared. That is why we encourage you to go to the SEC website. All our licensees are published on our website.”
“Verify on our website if indeed they are licensee before you put your money in. I have never heard of this Fidelity [Capital] Investment Group, and I do not think that they are licensed with us. I don’t know who are the people behind it. And especially when they seem to be operating only on online platforms and especially platforms such as Telegram, it is also one reason for you to be cautious,” Mensah Thompson admonished.
The Deputy Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission Ghana also indicated that the Commission is working with relevant agencies to clamp down on such activities, while taking steps to recover funds for victims of these schemes.
“We are in huge partnership with the Cybersecurity Authority. We have also been able to make some retrievals of funds. sometimes with the help of the telecommunication chamber, we are able to track especially the mobile numbers that are used to collect these funds and we are able to locate the people and effect their arrest.”
“So we are doing a lot but there is very little that we can do and so that is why we are always entreat the public to be more cautious,” Mensah Thompson added.
Fidelity Capital is not affiliated in any way with Fidelity Bank Ghana and is a separate entity that is not licensed by the SEC.
Source: citinewsroom.com by Daniel Sackitey
