SEC awaits Interpol red notice on Mica Tan

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is awaiting Interpol’s issuance of the red notice requested for MFT Group chief executive officer Maria Francesca Tan, who is being linked to a massive investment fraud.

“We have made a request for red notice for Mica Tan. But no red notice issued yet despite the request by the SEC several months ago,” SEC commissioner Rogelio Quevedo told The STAR.

“Since Mica Tan is still at large, the arraignment cannot happen,” he said.

The Interpol describes a red notice as a request to law enforcement authorities worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.

In a resolution in May last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted Maria Francesca Tan (MFT) Group of Companies Inc., Foundry Ventures I Inc., and their respective officers for their unauthorized solicitation of investments from the public, following a case buildup by the SEC.

The DOJ implicated Tan in the complaint, as well as other officers of the companies.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the SEC in April 2024, based on complaints it received from investors of MFT Group, which later transitioned to Foundry Ventures.

The commission has found the MFT Group enticing potential investors to participate in its investment scheme, with the promise of a guaranteed return ranging from 12 to 18 percent of the amount invested.

According to the SEC, MFT Group issued 12 post-dated checks to investors, through a promissory note or a borrower-lender agreement, in the form of a memorandum of agreement to prove the legitimacy of the scheme.

It said the first 11 checks indicated a one to 1.5 percent monthly interest, while the last check reflected the interest and principal amount as stated in the contract.

The amount invested will allegedly be used to finance the purchase orders for “sure projects” of the companies’ subsidiaries.

The DOJ likewise found MFT Group to have committed misrepresentations in its audited financial statements from 2018 to 2021, noting that its declared dividend income either had no basis, or did not correspond to the dividends declared and the retained earnings by its subsidiaries.

The investment-taking activity of MFT Group and Foundry Ventures was found similar to a Ponzi scheme, a type of investment fraud that relies on the funds contributed by new investors to pay the purported returns to existing investors.

A cease and desist order against the company was issued by the SEC in January 2024, and was made permanent in April of the same year.

SEC chairperson Francis Lim earlier dismissed the possibility of a potential settlement should the MFT Group decide to reach out to the commission.

“They have to show their money and they have to surrender. Why should the government deal with them if they don’t respect government processes like the warrant of arrest, right?” Lim told The STAR.

Meanwhile, the SEC, through the Financing and Lending Companies Department, is calling on the public to exercise utmost caution in dealing with persons, groups or entities offering loans through Telegram and other similar online messaging or social media platforms after it has observed a growing number of complaints and reports involving alleged fraudulent or unauthorized lending activities conducted through online messaging applications.

The commission likewise received reports of an alleged modus operandi in which individuals offering loans through Telegram invite prospective borrowers to join messaging groups or chat channels purportedly composed of other borrowers or clients.

The SEC urged the public to transact only with duly registered financing and lending companies and through officially   disclosed and authorized online platforms.