National Commission warns: three more investment projects recognized as scams
24 September 2025 05:32
The National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) has added three more cases to the list of unreliable investment projects. The list now includes 447 scam projects that have signs of fraud or operate in violation of the law. This was reported by the press service of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
“The NSSMC takes care of investor protection on a daily basis and regularly informs the public about financial projects that may be risky,” the national commission said.
The list of dubious investment projects was included:
- Mikhail Rudkovsky’s Trading School;
- TFH/Topfin;
- Trade Bino.
The full list of projects is available on the Commission’s official website in the section “Investor Protection“.
In the absence of information about a particular questionable project in this section, potential investors can analyze it for doubtfulness on their own, guided by the “10 signs of investment project doubtfulness”.
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How to protect your money: 10 signs of fraudulent investment projects
To avoid becoming a victim of financial scams, you should check the project for reliability before investing.
These signs will help you identify potentially fraudulent projects:
1. A large percentage of guaranteed returns.
Some projects offer a return of 100% or more per annum, while the algorithm for using money and the logic of earnings are extremely unclear.
2. Lack of relevant permits and licenses.
As a rule, the project does not have any official regulatory permits and licenses to carry out activities related to the provision of financial services, asset management, or other services in the capital markets in the country where it raises money. Sometimes investors are provided with “licenses” of foreign dubious organizations or exotic countries.
3. Aggressive marketing.
Most potentially fraudulent projects require aggressive advertising support. As a rule, advertising campaigns are implemented on the Internet. Large-scale, bright, and promising, they are usually based solely on emotional motives rather than rational arguments. A large number of positive reviews on the company’s website, recommendations from well-known bloggers and media personalities, or even a network of related “partner” websites in other jurisdictions should not be reassuring.
4. Lack of a physical office.
The presence of exclusively online communication, the absence of a physical office in the city or country where the project offers services, the absence of identified employees with a professional history who are responsible for managing investors’ funds – this should make you take a closer look at the investment project.
5. Lack of registration in the country of investment.
Contact legal entities and beneficiaries are usually residents of such countries as Seychelles, UAE, British Virgin Islands, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Republic of Vanuatu, countries with offshore zones, preferential customs or registration conditions.
6. There is no investor accreditation.
Projects are not interested in the investor’s financial capabilities and resources, and are ready to work even with low-income clients, offering them loans on bonded terms. Also, as a rule, there is no verification of the investor’s financial condition or credit history.
7. Suspicious or unverified biographies of managers.
Closed information about the actual project managers, those responsible for legal, financial, and accounting support of the project. Vague and legally unclear job titles of nominal managers who appear in promotional materials. Lack of confirmed professional history of such persons. Public figures who may present themselves as project managers may in fact be hired actors and not be involved in the management process in any way.
8. Lack of signed documents.
According to Ukrainian law, the conclusion of financial contracts requires the personalization of the signatories, personal signing of papers, physical availability of documents signed by both parties to the transaction in several copies or signed with an electronic digital signature.
9. Persistent suggestion to involve friends.
An offer to an investor to involve friends, relatives, and acquaintances in investments is a common practice of dubious investment projects.
10. Concealment of ownership.
The absence of any documents that can confirm a person’s ownership of the assets or their share in which the investment is supposed to be made. Lack of systematic reports on operations, activities and results of investor asset management.
How to report fraud?
If you are aware of any cases of suspicious activity in the financial market, you can report them to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission at [email protected].
