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IQ OPTION
IQ OPTION is NOT REGISTERED with the Commission and is NOT AUTHORIZED to solicit, accept or take investments/placements from the public

Date Posted: 16 June 2021

IQ OPTION

IQ OPTION

SEC Facebook

Based on information gathered by the Commission
,
the
e
n
tity
operating under
the name
IQ OPTION
LCC
or simply
IQ OPTION
from St. Vincent and
the
Grenadines
in the Caribbean
is
soliciting investments in the Philippines
WITHOUT
THE
NECESSARY LICENSE AND/OR AUTHORITY
from the Commission.
As part of its scheme
,
IQ OPTION
claims that it is legally represented in the
Philippines and allows Filipino users to earn money following local laws
, t
hus,
offering
enticing
leverages
ranging from 1:20 to 1:10
00 which appears to be “too good to be
true.”
To wit
:
IQ OPTION
even allows the use of trading robots particularly its
IQ BOT
in its
platform to make
trading therein
supposedly automated and
more
effective
.
Aside from the above red flags,
IQ OPTION
is
apparently
being
promoted
by
members of
LEARN AND EARN ONLINE
as well
which
was
the
subject of
our
SEC
ADVISORY dated
15 April 2021
for
promoting dubious online trading platforms and
openly soliciting investments herein the Philippines without the necessary registration
and/or authorization from the Commission
.
As
apparently
endorsed
:
Based on
our records,
IQ OPTION
is
NOT
REGISTERED
with the Commission
and
is
NOT AUTHORIZED
to solicit, accept or take investments/placements from the
public nor to issue investment contracts and other forms of securities
defined under
Section 3 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC)
in the Philippines
.
N
one of their
purported
agents,
representative,
and/or members
have
appropriate registra
tion and/or license to
offer or
sell
securities to the public
as well.
Our records likewise show that
IQ OPTION
is
operating its
digital exchange
platform
in the Philippines
without
the
proper registration with the Commission relative
to Section 32 of the SRC on the “Prohibition on Use of Unregistered Exchange
.

Likewise,
IQ
OPTION
is not a registered Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP)
with the Bangko Sentral ng Plilipinas under Circular No. 1108, series of 2021 or the
Guidelines for Virtual Asset Service Providers.
Based on the foregoing, i
t must be noted
that
oper
ating or doing business in
the Philippines requires prior registration and
/or
authorization with
the
concerned authorit
ies
and/or agenc
ies
including the Commission
.
Even the
BSP
requires those engaged in
online trading,
digital assets and/or
similar
activities operating in the
country
to register in accordance with its guidelines.
Therefore,
despite having purported
legal representations
in
the
Philippines
as
claimed
by
IQ OPTION
,
it is still not sufficient to satisfy
the registration requirement
s
set forth
under
our laws
for foreign entities actually doing business in the country
.
Hence, the
public is advised
NOT TO INVEST
or
STOP INVESTING
in any
scheme
being
offered
by
IQ OPTION
and
to
exercise due diligence
before placing their
hard earned
monies
in entities
that promises
ridiculous and/or fixed rate of return with
little or no risk.
The public must be aware that
trading with
such high
leverage is
in fact
dan
gerous. Although the
chance
s of
earn
ing huge
profits
is
relatively
high
, yet
,
such
kind of le
verage can also work against
the
investor/trader
because it can also
amplify
the
possible
losses
that one
may endure
ther
ein
.
Accordingly, t
he Commission warns
all unscrupulous individuals and/or entities
t
hat
strict penalties are imposed
for v
iolat
ions of
the
Securities Regulation Code,
the Revised Corporation Code, and such other rules and regulation enforce
d by
the Commission
.
I
t must be emphasized
that
the
offering and sale of
such
securities in the form
of investment contracts using the
“Ponzi Scheme”
is fraudulent and unsustainable
and
is
NOT a registrable security
.
The Commission will NOT ISSUE a License to
Sell Securities to the Public
to persons or entities that are engaged in this
business or scheme
.
T
hose who act as salesmen,
brokers, dealers or agents of
unauthorized entities
in selling or convincing people to invest in the
ir
investment scheme
offered
including
solicitations and recruitment through the internet
,
may
likewise be criminally
prosecuted
and penalized with a
maximu
m fine of Five Million pesos
(P5,000,000.00) or a penalty of Twenty

one (21) years of imprisonment or both
pursuant to Section
s 28 and
73 of the SRC.
Similarly
, t
hose who invite or recruit others to join or invest in such venture or
offer investment
contracts or securities to the public
ma
y incur criminally liability, or
otherwise be sanctioned or penalized accordingly
as held
by the Supreme Court in the
case of
S
EC
vs. Oudine Santos
(G.R. No. 195542, 19 March 2014).
T
he names of all those involved w
ill
also
be reported to the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) so that the appropriate penalties and/or taxes be assessed
correspondingly.
As always, i
t must be noted that the above laws are not aimed to hinder or pose
significant
threats or
risk
s
to busine
sses
especially those engaged in online trading,
forex,
and
/or
cryptocurrency projects
but
are intended for the protection of both the
registered entities and the investing public from any anomalies and/or irregularities
which tend to result from any unlawful
and/
or unauthorized operations.
Should you have any information regarding any investme
nt solicitation activity
by any individual or group of individuals representing
IQ OPTION
, please send your
report to the EIPD at epd@sec.gov.ph.
For the guidance of the public.
Pasay City,
15
June
2021