Validus has never been licenced to provide financial services or make financial promotions, the Dubai’s financial services regulator has warned.
The alert comes after the New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has made a permanent stop order that applies to Validus International LLC (Validus), Validus-FZCO, and associated persons of Validus, using the FMA’s powers under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (the Act).
The company employs a points system, which requires members to convert their points into a crypto currency which can be subsequently exchanged into currency.
It appeared that this was the first time the Dubai authority has issued a scam alert relating to the multi-level marketing scheme since the promotion of Validus in the Tongan community included saying the company was based in Dubai.
As Kaniva News has reported previously, Validus has made inroads into the Tongan community in New Zealand and has established a foothold in Tonga despite warnings that its activities resemble those of a pyramid scheme.
As we reported last year, some die hard Tongans in New Zealand and Australia flew to Dubai to attend a big function there by the company.
Photos and videos shared to Facebook showed some Tongans with backdrop logos of Validus and Tongan flags at the event.
Following the regulatory fraud warnings from New Zealand, Australia and Belgium, Validus collapsed last year in April.
Validus abandoned most of its social media profiles in November 2023. Instagram is still active as of December 23rd, but appears to be on marketing autopilot.
The Dubai authority said last week Validus-FZCO is not located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
“ It is not, and have never been, licenced by the DFSA to provide Financial Services or make Financial Promotions in or from the DIFC”, it said.
This included Validus related entities cited by the DFSA include VMarketing, Team Validus, Vewards and V-Connect.
These brands are not licenced or in any way authorised by the DFSA, and they are not located in the DIFC.
Validus is a Dubai-based MLM crypto Ponzi scheme, it said.
Total Validus victim numbers and how much they’ve lost remains unknown.
