The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa has warned the public against dealing with an individual named Roland Hadebe.
The fraudster used social media platforms to convince people to invest in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
When investors made a profit, he asked them to pay a releasing fee amounting to 20% of the gains.
Once Hadebe received the payment, he then refused to pay out the returns to his clients.
The FSCA warned that he is not authorised to provide financial advice and/or any financial intermediary services under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 2002.
The regulator added: “Members of the public should always check that an entity or individual is registered with the FSCA to provide financial advisory and intermediary services and what category of advice it is that the entity is registered to provide.
“There are instances where persons are registered to provide basic advisory services for a low–risk product and then offer services of a far more complex and risky nature.”
