The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has identified another suspected illegal investment platform known as TOFRO.COM (Tofro), cautioning Nigerians to avoid falling prey to its tactics aimed at extracting money through promises of unusually high returns.
In a notice released on Thursday and shared with the press, the SEC alerted the public that this platform presents itself as a cryptocurrency trading service, yet it is not registered with the Commission.
The SEC’s investigation indicates that Tofro’s operations display the hallmark signs of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme, including the promise of excessively high returns, a heavy dependence on a referral system for sustaining payouts, and a failure to honour withdrawal requests from users.
The Commission strongly advised Nigerians to exercise caution regarding investments with Tofro, warning that individuals who choose to invest with the entity do so at their own peril.
The notice states, “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 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 Commission similarly reminds potential investors of the need to VERIFY the registration status of investment platforms via the Commission’s dedicated portal: www.sec.gov.ng/cmos before transacting with them.”
The SEC highlighted that Nigerians have collectively lost over ₦1.3 trillion to the CBEX Ponzi scheme, emphasising the urgent need for increased awareness.
SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama remarked on the importance of Nigerians recognising the risks associated with investing in unregistered or unregulated ventures. He stated, “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 ₦20 million 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.
“Training programmes being organised by these people to lure people into their schemes are also illegal. Verify before you invest in any scheme, and that is our message to Nigerians.”
