ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Friday warned the general public to refrain from investing in any fraudulent investment schemes by Xstate Technologies (Private) Ltd Company, Beacon Marketing (Private) Ltd, International Hospitality Investment Group (Private) Ltd, Dao Proptech (Private) Ltd and Neo Cassa (Private) Ltd via their online platforms.

The SECP’s warning came after it was noticed that some listed companies were using their online platforms and websites for illegal schemes regarding fractionalisation of real estate assets and selling those fractions to public at large.

None of these platforms – Xstate (www.xstate.com), Beacon (beaconcrowd.com), International Hospitality (https://ihigfractions.com), Dao Proptech (https://daoproptech.com) and Neo Cassa (http://www.neocassa.com) – have the approval for performing this function under the sandbox regulatory regime of the SECP.

The regulator said that under Section 87(2) of the Securities Act, 2015, no person can sell securities to the public without prior approval of the SECP. The commission can wind-up these companies for these unlawful activity under section 301 of the Companies Act, 2017, it added.

While SECP has initiated legal action against these entities for carrying unauthorised and illegal business activities, it is deemed appropriate to alert the public against possible misuse of registration status of the companies to mislead them, a statement said.

The general public, in their best interest, is advised to refrain from investing the­ir hard-earned money into any unauthorised schemes, the statement added.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2021