The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has debarred Mr Robert Fabian Linder (Linder) for a period of 10 years and imposed an administrative penalty of R1 000 000, inclusive of costs, on Equitos Group (Pty) Ltd (Equitos).
Complaints were received that Equitos and Linder offered financial services to members of the public without authorisation. An investigation found that Equitos and Linder acted as financial services providers without the required authorisation. They provided intermediary services to members of the public by marketing investments and referring clients to offshore property developers, which resulted in clients investing in shares in offshore companies.
The FSCA found that Equitos and Linder contravened section 7(1)(a) of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002 in a material way.
As a result of the findings, Linder is accordingly prohibited from:
- providing, or being involved in the provision of, financial services;
- acting as a key person of a financial institution; and
- providing specified financial services to a financial institution, whether under outsourcing arrangements or otherwise.
The FSCA emphasises the risk associated with conducting financial services with entities that maybe operating without the necessary licenses.
The public is strongly urged to exercise caution when considering unsolicited investment or trading offers, especially those communicated through social media. The public is urged to act with care when investing their funds. There are many fraudsters operating scams, and the number is growing. South Africans lose millions of rands every year to fraudsters.
Illegal operations are sometimes well-disguised as legitimate operations. The public is advised to be on the lookout for certain tell-tale danger signs when approached by persons offering attractive investment opportunities.