The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Tuesday it revoked the license of Wealth and Personal Development Lending for its alleged failure to comply with reportorial requirements and alleged involvement in illegal activities.
The SEC said in a statement it also imposed an administrative fine of more than P2 million against the company and its officers for non-submission of general information sheet (GIS), annual financial statements (AFS) and special forms for financial statements,
It said the company violated Republic Act No. 9474, or the Lending Company Regulation Act (LCRA) and its implementing rules and regulations, which requires the submission of reportorial requirements.
The SEC said the company belatedly paid its annual fee for the years 2017 and 2018 and did not make payments since 2019. No submissions were also made for its GIS since 2021; AFS since 2019; and special forms for financial statements from 2019 up to present.
The SEC also noted that since its last AFS submission in 2019, no record showed that the company continued its operation as a lending company.
Instead, a resolution issued by the House of Representatives was found, indicating the company’s alleged involvement in a drug buy-bust operation conducted by the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group.
Meanwhile, the SEC also issued an advisory against two firms, Kalinga Venture Group OPC and Titan Capital Markets due to alleged solicitation of investments without the necessary license.
Kalinga Venture is reportedly enticing the public by offering various investment subscription plans that allegedly may earn 25 percent to 170 percent of income in 9 to 40 days.
Titan Capital is also allegedly offering investments to the public through bot trading or staking for a minimum amount of $100 up to $3,000 with a promise return of 21 percent every month for 90 days or 24 percent for 180 days depending on their subscription plan.
Some of these groups’ investment schemes or actions resemble a pyramid/Ponzi scheme, where investors earn through recruitment fees instead of the sale of actual products/services, and investors are paid using the contribution of new members, according to the SEC.