ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission has set up a Corporate Intelligence Unit to spot registered companies running Ponzi or pyramid schemes, taking deposits or lending without a licence, or straying beyond their approved business, before investors complain.
The unit will scan news reports, social media and online advertising for warning signs and pass verified leads to SECP departments for inquiry or enforcement, the regulator said. Information may be shared with the Federal Investigation Agency, the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, the State Bank of Pakistan and the National Accountability Bureau.
Chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said it would turn open-source information into verified regulatory leads and help protect investors before losses escalated.
The unit has been set up under Section 20 of the SECP Act, 1997, within the chairman’s secretariat, and will be run by a director or additional director with two officers, a small team given how widely such schemes are advertised on social media.
Lahore has been a recurring target of investment frauds promising fixed monthly returns, often marketed through WhatsApp groups and short-video apps, with many victims only discovering the schemes after payouts stop.
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