The officers and shareholders of MFT Group of Companies and The Foundry Ventures issued a statement reiterating their position that “we never engaged in securities transactions in violation of the Revised Securities Act.”
They noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against them before the Justice Department (DOJ) for a violation of the said law, following its issuance of a permanent Cease and desist Order against the group.
“We welcome the opportunity to clear our names and are hopeful that the DOJ will exonerate us. From the very beginning, we were never shown a copy of the alleged Complaints and it is only now that the SEC produced the alleged Complaints for the DOJ,” the statement said.
They added that, “Consequently, we have confirmed that the Complaints were spearheaded by personalities we have previously identified as the ones responsible for an online smear campaign and who have ulterior motives to fabricate charges. These are the same personalities we have previously sued for damages.”
“We continue to believe in our legal and judicial processes despite the fact we feel we have not so far been afforded due process. We trust that the DOJ will be impartial and honor our basic right to be heard through the preliminary investigation process,” the group said.
They also noted of their previous appeal on the CDO ruling of the SEC to the Court of Appeals and that they shall do the same with the SEC’s recent ruling. At the same time, the group said that they will continue to reach out to the SEC for matters that can still be rectified. "We have always adhered to the law and pray that we will ultimately be vindicated,” it added.
It could be recalled that SEC said it filed a criminal complaint last April 5 against the MFT Group and Foundry Ventures for violation of Sections 8, 26, and 28 of The Securities Regulation Code (SRC), in relation to Section 6 the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Section 8 of the SRC provides that securities shall not be sold or offered for sale or distribution within the Philippines, without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.
Meanwhile, Section 26.3 of the SRC states that it shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, in connection with the purchase or sale of any securities, to engage in any act, transaction, practice, or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person.
Section 28 further adds that no person shall engage in the business of buying or selling securities in the country as a broker or dealer, or act as a salesman or an associated person of any broker or dealer unless registered as such with the Commission.
The SEC also charged the MFT Group and Foundry Venture with violation of Section 54.1 (c), in relation to Section 54.2 of the SRC and Section 177 of the Revised Corporation Code (RCC), and SRC Rule 68, in connection with material misrepresentations in their audited financial statements (AFS).
SRC Rule 68 provides that financial statements filed with the SEC are primarily the responsibility of the management of the reporting company. In discharging its responsibilities, the board of directors reviews and approves the financial statements before these are submitted to the stockholders.
Section 54 of the SRC authorizes the SEC to impose administrative sanctions to any person who has made any untrue statement of a material fact in reports, applications, accounts, records, or documents required by law to be filed with the Commission.