IHC upholds SECP’s decision to penalize Shaukat Marwat Group

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has upheld the decision of the Appellate Bench of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) against Shaukat Marwat Group of Companies (Private) Limited.

IHC announced the decision of appeals filed by Shaukat Marwat Group and Shaukat Marwat Estates & Builders (Private) Limited against the penalties of Rs. 50 million and Rs. 10 million imposed by the SECP Appellate Bench respectively.

During the multiple court hearings, SECP, through its Special Public Prosecutors, successfully presented its case and assertively defended the orders of its Appellate Bench and Adjudication Division.

Resultantly, the Court dismissed these appeals by determining that the submissions made by the appellants were misconceived and without merit.

According to the SECP Appellate Bench’s investigation, these companies were found to be involved in illegal deposit-taking activities and were conducting a social media campaign related to such unlawful activities.

Show Cause Notices were issued against these companies on July 13, 2021 under Section 84 of the Companies Act, 2017, which culminated into penal orders dated March 18, 2022 along with direction to unwind the unlawful transactions of deposit taking.

The SECP asserts and has clarified in the past through multiple press releases that mere registration of a company with the SECP does not authorize it to seek deposits from the general public. Deposit-taking by companies, other than banking companies and entities duly licensed by the SECP, is illegal under Section 84 of the Companies Act, 2017.

The general public is advised, in their own interest, to exercise caution and avoid dealing with and investing in illegal schemes offered by companies involved in unauthorized deposit-taking, unauthorized investments, or multi-level marketing schemes, SECP said in its statement.