- Safiu Kehinde
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has exposed another cryptocurrency trading platform, TOFRO, as an alleged investment scam.
This is coming amid the ongoing probe and investigation of Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for scamming thousands of Nigerians.
Following the crash of CBEX, SEC had the declared the platform illegal as it was not registered with the commission.
In the same vein, SEC, in a statement issued on its official X handle on Friday, raised alarm over the emergence Torfo which also presented its self as a cryptocurrency trading platform.
While stating that the platform is not registered, the commission held that Tofro’s operations, as revealed by investigation, exhibited the typical indicators of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme, including the promise of unusually high returns and heavy reliance on a referral system.
SEC urged the public to avoid investing with Tofro, adding that potential investors need to verify the registration status of any investment platforms with the commission.
The statement read in part; “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“The 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 the 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 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.”