Platform Mind Capital Is Labeled as Potential Scam by Regulator of Italy
The country’s Securities Commission called the company a corrupt financial intermediary. Spanish authorities have also warned about the website, which operates without any licenses.
In recent days, the Italian National Commission for the Italian Society and Stock Market (CONSOB) banned the operations of cryptocurrency investment platform Mind Capital because they consider it as a potential scam.
In a July 23rd statement, the financial regulator informed citizens that, after an inspection, it found enough evidence to order the blocking of the website. The company offers a “high-yield system available to everyone”, basing on cryptocurrency investment and operating in Italy without any authorization.
CONSOB identifies Mind Capital as a “corrupt” financial intermediary. The agency also reminds users about the importance of taking additional preventive measures before investing in platforms that offer financial services.
In the legal resolution, the regulatory agency explains that Mind Capital does not offer products or services, but only requests membership in exchange for a promise of a higher yield. The regulator also clarifies that the company has not responded to communications that it has sent it.
The regulatory agency details a series of observations that violate the Decree-Law that regulates the platforms that offer financial services in Italy. Among them, CONSOB mentions that Mind Capital promotes an investment of between 40 to 100,000 MCcoin tokens, equivalent to one US dollar per unit. However, the website indicates that the company only gives the MCcoin token an internal use.
MCcoin is not a token listed on any known platform. Due to its characteristics, Mind Capital falls into the category of Ponzi scheme, since it uses the same recipe that other similar platforms such as AirBit Club and OneCoin offer.
Among other features, the platform promises to pay the yield of the previous day daily basis. At the time of distributing the profits, the company reserves 35% of them to cover management, and maintenance expenses, as its website indicates.
Mind Capital also claims that its method bases on its ability to “study in real-time the evolution of the main crypto-assets and their selling prices in different currencies and find the best times for buying and selling.”
Italy joins other countries that have warned about Mind Capital, among which is Spain, where they consider it as a “financial beach bar”. In January of this year, the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) included this company in the list of unauthorized financial services in the country.
In recent days, the Texas Securities and Exchange Commission also released a statement labeling Mind Capital as a 10-tier Ponzi scheme. This order points to its president and CEO, Gonzalo García Pelayo, and its Vice President, Oscar Garcia Pelayo.
Who is behind Mind Capital?
On the Mind Capital website, Spanish executive Gonzalo García Pelayo appears as the leader of a team of experts in mathematics, economics, and technology. Several media in Spain state that this character does not have a story linking him to cryptocurrencies.
In 2012, Gonzalo García Pelayo and his family group reportedly made a fortune after finding an error in the operation of casino roulettes. The Pelayos later rose to fame when their story appeared on the big screen with a movie that grossed more than USD 1.69 million.
To avoid becoming victims of frauds like the one that CONSOB is reporting in the case of Italy, users should continue to learn more about the world of cryptocurrencies. Education plays a fundamental role so that investors know the safest options in the market.
By Willmen Blanco