The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint with the Department of Justice against New Seataoo Corporation, Seataoo Information Technology, OPC and identified officers, agents and a stockholder for allegedly soliciting investments from the public without the required SEC licence. The complaint cites violations of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) and related provisions, including references to the Cybercrime Prevention Act and the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act (FCPA). The SEC’s case follows public complaints that investors were enticed through social media advertising, including Facebook and YouTube, and invested amounts ranging from PHP 20,000 to PHP 2.3 million in expectation of returns. Following its investigation, the SEC found the Seataoo Group was offering securities in the form of investment contracts through a “dropshipping e-commerce platform” scheme that required participants to deposit funds to process orders, promised profits of 7% to 12%, and offered a 3% referral commission via an affiliate programme; the SEC characterised the mandatory account funding as a device to mask the offer and sale of unregistered securities and cited the SRC’s prohibition on selling or offering securities without an approved registration statement and permit to sell. The enforcement action follows an earlier SEC order dated June 10, 2024 revoking the companies’ certificates of registration, and a Commission En Banc decision dated December 26, 2024 denying their appeal for lack of merit.

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