THE Cagayan de Oro City Council session hall was packed on Friday, August 3, as the founder of the controversial Freedom Traders Club (FTC) Mark Freeman finally showed up to clear the cloud of doubts about his business.
Freeman appeared during a hearing of the committee on trade and commerce, bringing along with him a document supposedly issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The document is a Certificate of Registration for the Ploutos Innovation Corporation to prove that his business is legitimate and not a scam.
"We have a pending application before the SEC advisory was publicized. It just happened that the SEC advisory was issued first before our application was finished. Kung dito kami mag comply sa local dugay kaayo it took us 3 months bago lumabas ang SEC registration, so ang ginawa namin personally pumunta kami ng main office sa Manila and siguro 3 days lang lumabas na yung SEC registration (If we applied for the registration here in the local level, it will take 3 months, so what we did was we went to their office in Manila to apply and the registration was issued after only 3 days)," Freeman explained.
He said the SEC issued the certificate of registration on July 27.
Freeman said that at first, it did not cross their mind to register with SEC, pointing out that they started with just a small group.
He said he is not soliciting investment, but only teaching his 'students' how to trade.
"Hindi siya scam katulad ng sinabi ni Kagawad Goking, hindi puwede tawaging scam hanggat di naririnig yung side ko (It's not a scam, you can't call it one until you hear my side). Ang scam kasi matatawag mo lang na ganyan kung ang founder di nagpakita (you can call it scam if I did not appear here), but I am here," he said.
But SEC-Northern Mindanao regional director Renato Egypto said the SEC registration is not enough, pointing out that second paragraph of the certificate of registration states that it "does not authorize it to issue, sell or offer for sale to the public security such as but not limited to share of stocks, investment contracts and virtual currencies without prior registration statement approved by the SEC".
Egypto said for FTC to continue to do what it does, it needs a secondary license. He said the secondary permits are more “stringent,” requiring disclosure statements, business affiliation, business plan including target market, proposed interest, terms, and location of offices and branches among others.
While Freeman still applies for all of these requirements at the SEC, Egypto advised Freeman to cease and desist from doing transactions.
"That is why I challenge them please cease and desist from further soliciting and offering investments from the public because our advisory will stand," he said.
Egypt said Freeman should not deceive the public by showing them the certificate of registration.
"The certificate is not enough that is why we would like to address the public that there are types of businesses wherein not only the SEC registration or the primary registration is required, you have to get secondary license and permit," he said.
"I would like to address the public especially those involved as regulator that we have a standing advisory, putting into question this kind of scheme," he added.