ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has initiated legal action against various companies for carrying unauthorised and illegal business activities, a SECP notice stated.

The companies, through their online platforms/websites are involved in illegal schemes regarding fractionalisation of real estate assets and are selling those fractions to the public at large, it added.

According to the notice issued, the companies involved in the illegal business activities include Beacon Marketing (Private) Limited, International Hospitality Investment Group (Private) Limited, Dao Proptech (Private) Limited and Neo Cassa (Private) Limited.

To protect the general public from unlawful and illegal activities being carried out by various companies, the SECP, frequently issues public warnings advising the general public to refrain from investing in any fraudulent investment schemes.

None of these platforms have the approval for performing these functions under the sandbox regulatory regime of the SECP. In terms of section 87(2) of the Securities Act, 2015, no person can sell securities to the public without prior approval of the SECP.

Unlawful activity is a ground for winding up of such companies under section 301 of the Companies Act, 2017.

While the SECP has initiated legal action and adopted a legal course, against these entities, it also alerted the public against possible misuse of registration status of the companies to mislead them.

The general public, in their best interest, is advised to refrain from investing their hard-earned money into any unauthorised schemes, the notice added.