There’s ‘something fishy’ about these schemes

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The FSCA said it has received information that an entity called RNI Aquaculture is conducting unregistered financial services business.

RNI Aquaculture uses referrals and videos on YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook to solicit investments. RNI offers members of the public an opportunity to invest with it by renting products such as fish and abalone, promising unrealistic returns of up to 30% a month, the FSCA said in a statement this week.

A YouTube video posted by AquaProsperityHub claims RNI Aquaculture was founded in 2016 and “has been making waves in the US aquaculture industry. Now they’ve expanded to South Africa with a groundbreaking aquatic adoption initiative supported by the government and Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.”

The video, posted in March this year, claims that RNI Aquaculture “strictly adheres” to the Aquaculture Development Act.

“It promises clear daily and monthly earnings, profits, and career advancement for its partners […] As partners, you can increase your revenue by adopting corresponding aquatic products. Your funds contribute to building aquaculture centres. It’s a win-win situation: 50% of the profits for you, 50% for the company. Now I know what you’re thinking: is my money safe? Absolutely. Your funds are supervised by the International Financial Commission and protected by the South African government.”

Comments under the video, as well as on a Facebook group “Scam alert in South Africa”, indicate that investors’ money has sunk without a trace.

The visuals used in the video are clearly of generic stock footage. No evidence is provided of the existence of the “aquaculture centres”. The link to RNI Aquaculture’s website does not work.

The FSCA said the returns offered to the public are not realistic or sustainable.

“Without commenting on the business of RNI Aquaculture, the FSCA points out that offering financial products or services in South Africa requires authorisation by the FSCA. RNI Aquaculture is not licensed by the FSCA in terms of any financial sector law. RNI Aquaculture was not available for comment,” the Authority said.

In a separate statement, the Authority warned the public to be cautious when dealing with individuals impersonating the FSCA and its staff member, Melvin Fish.

The impersonators appear to be operating a “cloning scam”, using emails where they assume the identity of the FSCA or members of its staff to defraud the public.

The FSCA received complaints from members of the public who were contacted by the impersonators and requested to pay over funds, so that their investment returns would be released. The recipients of these fraudulent emails are victims of scams that the FSCA is investigating.

It appears the impersonators have knowledge of the FSCA’s investigations and are using this information to extort funds from victims. The impersonators use an email address, fscamalvin@gmail.com, that is not an official FSCA email address and is not linked to the Authority or Fish.

Entities under investigation

FSCA warned the public to act with caution when conducting financial services business with Trident Global (Pty) Ltd and Arbitrawallet NTC because it is investigating whether these entities are conducting unregistered financial services business.

The Authority said it is investigating Trident Global and Richard Clark after received information that they offered financial services to members of the public without the necessary authorisation.

The FSCA said it is reasonably suspects that Arbitrawallet, Edwin Thabo Letopa, Marius Venter, and Sakhile Matsimela may be conducting unregistered financial services.

Both investigations are ongoing, and the FSCA has not announced the findings thereof.

Check before you invest

The FSCA says members of the public should always check the following:

That an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for providing recommendations about how to invest.

The category of advice the person is registered to provide, as there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product but advice on far more complex and risky products.

That the FSP number used by the entity or individual offering financial services matches the name of the FSP on the FSCA’s database.

You can check whether an entity or person is authorised to provide financial products and services by: