Press Release No 9 –
Reserve Bank Issues Caution on Investment Company
Press Release No. : 09/2015
Date : 06 March 2015
Members of the public are advised to refrain from investing with Ecovexco Investment Group, a company that has been advertising investment opportunities through the local newspapers.
Any entity or company inviting members of the public in Fiji to contribute capital to such investment ventures must first obtain approval from the Reserve Bank of Fiji. In the case of Ecovexco Investment Group, no such approval has been granted by the Reserve Bank. Offshore investments by any individual in Fiji also require the prior approval of the Reserve Bank.
There are strong indications that the proposal offered by Ecovexco Investment Group is an investment fraud. The company promises investors huge returns of up to 15 times their capital investment in high risk sectors such as foreign exchange brokerage, oil, gas and gold exchange.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji is also aware that notices of investment caution have been issued against Ecovexco Investment Group by securities regulators in British Columbia and Manitoba in Canada, where the company also attempted to solicit investment funds from the public without seeking necessary prior approval.
Contact addresses provided by Ecovexco Investment Ltd in the newspaper advertisement stated that it was based in New South Wales, Australia. Checks with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Companies Office have revealed that the company was not registered with them. The Governor, Barry Whiteside stated that members of the public should exercise extreme caution when making decisions on such offers of investment opportunities. He reiterated that it is crucial that members of the public first enquire on the credibility of the people behind such schemes, and only invest in products and ventures that they fully understand.
For further information, please contact Ms Lorraine Seeto, Chief Manager Risk Management & Communications on telephone 322-3402; email lorraine@rbf.gov.fj or Mr Mervin Singh, Manager Corporate Communications on telephone 322-3229; email mervin@rbf.gov.fj.