Thousands of Kenyans have been left unable to access their money after a United States-based investment platform froze withdrawals, triggering concern among investors who had deposited funds into the scheme.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The platform had attracted a large membership in Kenya, with teachers making up a significant portion of its members alongside other investors recruited mainly through workplaces and referrals.

Investors who attempted to withdraw their money from September 4 were instead shown a notice citing the United States PATRIOT Act and a rule by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a U.S. organisation with which the platform is not associated.

Some investors were also reportedly instructed to deposit additional funds before their accounts could be unlocked, raising further concerns over access to their money.

📌 What You Need to Know

Th e investment scheme had been marketed in Kenya through an organisation known as Global Investment Group, with prospective members required to put in a minimum of about Ksh65,000.

Investors were promised daily returns through copy-trading, allowing them to automatically mirror the trading of other experienced people involving major international companies in the U.S.

Recruitment reportedly spread through workplaces, with some teachers introducing colleagues to the scheme in staff rooms, while other investors reportedly took salary loans to raise the required entry amount.

While the scale of the scheme remains unclear, preliminary reports indicate that it attracted more than 12,000 Kenyans into the fraudulent investment scheme.

Matungulu Member of Parliament Stephen Mule raised concerns in Parliament on August 12, asking the Finance and National Planning Committee to investigate the ownership and control of the platform after some Kenyans began raising concerns.

On September 12, the C apital Markets Authority (CMA) subsequently listed the platform among 15 entities it said were operating in the country without approval.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke