Investing also prohibited until certain requirements are met

Oct 22, 2018 15:16 GMT  ·  By

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) suspended trading for securities belonging to American Retail Group Inc, a self-advertised "global cryptocurrency market" for claiming in a press release that they conducted transactions under SEC regulations.

American Retail Group Inc is the company behind Simex Inc, a platform designed to allow customers to manage, trade and invest in cryptocurrencies, tokens and a multitude of conventional currencies, which it acquired in May 2018.

SEC suspended securities trading for American Retail Group Inc (OTC: ARGB) following an August 2018 press-release published by the Nevada-based company in which it claimed that the SEC was regulating the platform's cryptocurrency transactions.

Furthermore, the same press-release also said that an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) conducted by American Retail Group was "officially registered in accordance [with] SEC requirements."

American Retail Group's trading suspension comes right after the SEC issued an investor warning regarding ICO scams

Robert A. Cohen, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Cyber Unit said that "The SEC does not endorse or qualify custodians for cryptocurrency, and investors should use vigilance when considering an investment in an initial coin offering."

This incident follows an investor alert issued by the SEC in which it warned that "investors to watch out for false claims about agency actions and endorsements related to digital assets."

Moreover, "Fraudsters may use false claims to lure investors into purchasing digital assets and to artificially raise their value. “Digital assets” include crypto-currencies, coins, and tokens such as those offered in so called initial coin offerings (ICOs)."

As detailed by SEC's press release regarding American Retail Group's trading suspension, the agency can suspend stock trading for up to 10 days and prohibit suspended entities from approaching investors regarding an eventual stock exchange until it meets specific reporting requirements.