SEC Facebook

The Commission has received information that
an individual
or group of
persons representing an entity named
OFIR PETROLEUM CORPORATION
(
OFIR
)
are enticing the public to invest their mone
y in the said entity with the
promise of
high
monetary rewards or profits.
OFIR
claims to be engaged in a
gasoline/fueling station
business
.
Based on reports and the information gathered and verified by the
Commission,
OFIR
is engaged in
offering 100
P
referred Shares
with par value of
Fifty Thousand Pesos (PhP50,000.00) per share plus a subscription fee of
AED500.00 or Seven Thousand Fifty Pesos (PhP7,050.00) per share. Investors
will have a
Dividend Yield of 35
–
45% per annum of their total share/s, wi
th
quarterly receipt of dividends
.
The investment
s are claimed
to
be used for
the construction of
a
gas
oline
station to be located in Avia
tion Road, Lapu
–
Lapu City, Cebu
and
for the purchase
of fuel products
to be sold in the said
station.
The investor
s will just have to wait
for the gasoline station to be fully operational in 3
–
6 months to enjoy the full
benefits of receiving their Dividend Yield quarterly.
A screenshot of its enticement is shown below:
A scrutiny of its marketing/compensati
on plan shows that
OFIR
is
obviously engaged in
the public offering for sale and distribution of securities, in
the form of investment contracts, especially their own representation that an
investor is entitled to a passive income by way of a Dividend Yiel
d. Its
gasoline/fueling station business is only a front to entice the public to invest.
The
investment scheme of
OFIR
, where investors are promised
Dividend Yield
, is
within the definition of
“securities”
under Section 3.1 of the Securities Regulation
C
ode
(SRC)
.
Furthermore, a perusal of its Articles of Incorporation, particularly Article
VII therein, shows that the subject corporation has no classification of shares.
OFIR
has only one (1) class of shares
–
common shares. Thus, it would not be
possib
le for the subject corporation to issue preferred shares as this kind of shares
was not indicated in its Articles of Incorporation.
Records of the Commission show that
OFIR PETROLEUM
CORPORATION
is registered with the SEC on
2
9
January
2019 under Company
Registration No. CS2019
61166
.
However, such registration grants juridical
personality to the corporation but does not authorize it to issue, sell or offer for sale
securities to the public nor to undertake business activities requiring a secondary
license
from the Commission.
The public is hereby informed that
OFIR PETROLEUM CORPORATION
is
not authorized to solicit investments
from the public, not having secured prior
registration and/or license to sell securities or solicit investments as prescrib
ed
unde
r Section 8 of the SRC
.
Those who act as salesmen, brokers, dealers or agents of the said entity
in selling or convincing people to invest in the investment scheme it is being
offered including soliciting investments or recruiting investors through the in
ternet
may be held criminally liable under Section 28 of the SRC and penalized with a
maximum fine of Five Million Pesos (Php5,000,000.00) or imprisonment of Twenty
One (21) years or both pursuant to Section 73 of the SRC (
SEC vs. Oudine
Santos, G.R. No. 1
95542, 19 March 2014
).
Furthermore, the names of all those involved will be reported to the
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) so that the appropriate penalties and/or taxes be
correspondingly assessed.
In view thereof, the public is hereby advised to exe
rcise caution in dealing
with any individual or group of persons soliciting investments for and on behalf of
OFIR PETROLEUM CORPORATION.
The public is further advised
NOT TO
INVEST
or to
STOP INVESTING
in the investment scheme being offered by
the
subject
entity
or its representatives.
Violators are further warned that aside from the strict penalties imposed by
the Commission for violations of the Securities Regulation Code, the Revised
Corporation Code, and such other rules and regulation it enforces, t
he Bayanihan
to Heal as One Act (Republic Act No. 11469) also punishes those participating in
cyber incidents that make use or take advantage of the current crisis situation to
prey on the public through scams, phising, fraudulent emails, or other similar
acts.
Should you have any information regarding the operation of the subject
entity, please call the Enforcement and Investor Protection Department
(EIPD)
at
telephone number 8818
–
6047 or email at
epd@sec.gov.ph
or
visit the EIPD at
Ground Floor, North Wing Hall, Secretariat Building, PICC Complex, Pasay City.
For the guidance of the public.
Pasay City,
09 June 2020