The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has warned the public against dealing in the InterWeb Global Fortune Limited following the discovery of suspect trades.
The regulator has similarly flagged the firm’s director Manasseh Kuria and frozen the company’s bank accounts after the conclusion of preliminary investigations alongside the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)
According to CMA, the firm has purported to carry on business as an online Forex (FX) broker and money manager without requisite licensing.
“In addition to unlawfully collecting funds from investors, Interweb Global Fortune’s business model features traits of a pyramid or ponzi scheme, where investors are promised high returns or dividends which are not realistic. Investors have also been encouraged to recruit other people for a commission,” said CMA’s boss Paul Muthaura on Thursday.
Moreover, the online FX dealer has been implicated for misleading investors into believing they hold valid approval from the market regulator.
A review of the company’s own description on its website has the firm boasting of its, over a decade, expertise in online trading.
The flagging of Interweb comes in the wake of elevated alertness by regulators on the proliferation of unlicensed online foreign exchange dealers.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has previously advised members of the public to confirm the validity of their online traders or run the risk of being defrauded.