The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a strong warning to Nigerians over a suspected illegal investment platform, TOFRO (TOFRO.COM).
In a notice released on Thursday, the Commission cautioned the public that Tofro poses as a cryptocurrency trading platform but is not registered with the SEC to solicit investments or operate within the Nigerian capital market.
According to the Commission: “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 an investment with the entity does so at his/her own risk.”
The SEC urged Nigerians to always verify the legitimacy of any investment scheme by checking the registration status on its official portal at www.sec.gov.ng/cmos.
Highlighting the risks, the Commission noted that Nigerians have already lost over ₦1.3 trillion to the CBEX Ponzi scheme, stressing the urgent need for vigilance.
SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, emphasized the dangers of unregulated platforms, stating:
“It is disheartening that some Nigerians and foreign accomplices have specialised in duping Nigerians, and the government won’t sit and watch Nigerians being duped, and this is what the SEC is coming out to the people to educate them – that if it’s too good to be true, then watch out.
We have seen many Ponzi schemes in the past, and the Investments and Securities Act was signed into law by the President, and the law recommends a ₦20m fine and 10 years imprisonment for offenders of the Ponzi schemes.
So, that has empowered us to be in a better position to flush out all these fraudulent investment schemes that are damaging our economy.
We are using this sensitisation outreach to bring information to our people, and that is why we are here and telling them that we are here to assist them to confirm legitimate investment schemes, and we are letting them know we feel their pain.
As we are doing this, we have helped to educate them against being duped. CAC registration and EFCC certification are not enough to show that the company is registered with the SEC, and these are red flags.”
