SEC orders Astrazion Group to stop offering digital currency

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Astrazion Noble Task Community Foundation, Astrazion Global Holdings Philippines Inc. and Astrazion International to stop offering their digital currency to the public.

In a resolution dated August 11, the Commission en banc declared the cease and desist order (CDO) issued  on May 12 against the Astrazion Group permanent, as it denied the motion filed by Astrazion Foundation and Astrazion Holdings for the lifting of the order.

The Commission en banc said the Astrazion Group was in violation of the Securities Regulation Code, which provides that securities should not be sold or offered for sale or distribution without a registration that is approved by the SEC.

The Astrazion Group, in its motion to lift the CDO, argued that the “sale of the tokens to non-members did not constitute sale of investment contracts because the scheme was decentralized and did not rely primarily on the efforts of others to earn a profit.”

But the SEC said the group  “adopted a very broad definition of securities, which was intended to be liberally construed to achieve the main purpose of its enactment—the regulation of the issuance and sale of securities, and the prevention of fraud.”

The Commission  en banc said investment contracts were deemed as securities because the scheme involved the public putting in money in the hope of realizing gains.

The group offered investment packages that promised a 3-percent return per day.

“The starter package worth $100 could yield $300 in 100 days, while the double platinum package guaranteed a whopping $30,000 within the same period from an initial investment of $10,000,” the SEC explained.

It also offered digital currency called AZNT Token for 10 cents each.