ISLAMABAD: To protect the general public from unlawful and illegal activities being carried out by various companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Friday issued a public warning advising general public to refrain from investing in any fraudulent investment schemes.

The corporate sector regulator said a company called ‘La Ville De Paris Housing Scheme Ltd’ was inviting the public to purchase certificates, namely Le Paris Registration Certificate, to become entitled for investment in residential and commercial property schemes to be launched by the company in future. The company is offering a minimum guaranteed return per certificate and eligibility for lucrative cash prizes through a lucky draw.

“The general public is hereby informed that investment opportunity, whereby any future return/benefit, determined by chance or lottery or like manner, is assured or promised in return for a deposit or contribution is an unlawful activity and is a ground for winding up of such a company in terms of section 301 of the Companies Act, 2017,” the SECP said.

The commission added that inviting money from general public to offer any return is a restricted business activity and can only be offered by specialised companies duly authorised by the SECP or the State Bank of Pakistan.

The aforementioned company has explicitly declared in its Mem­orandum of Association that it shall not engage in any lottery business or any restricted or unlawful business.

The SECP said that it was reviewing activities being carried out by the above-mentioned company. “It is deemed appropriate to alert the public against possible misuse of the registration status of the company to mislead them,” the statement added.

The SECP said that another company called ‘All Pakistan Projects’ was offering lucrative investment packages through its website. The commission informed the general public that ‘All Pakistan Projects’ was not registered with the SECP.

“It has been noted that few individuals, whose names are appearing on the website of the entity, are directors/members in the following registered companies,” the SECP said, adding that these firms include APP Projects and Real Estate (Pvt) Ltd, AITS Traders (SMC-Private) Ltd, APP Restaurants & Cafe (Pvt) Ltd, APP Riders (Pvt) Ltd, APP Shopping Mall (Pvt) Ltd.

The SECP stressed that even a registered company registered cannot invite or accept deposits from the public.