Spanish web site offers illegal investment services

PANAMA. Spain’s National Commission of the Securities Market (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, CNMV) warned that eight societies from Panama, Hong Kong, and Austria are providing investment services without the proper legal permits.

In Panama’s case, the National Securities Commission posted on its web site a message warning that “the name, address and logo of the Panamanian investment house Global Valores S.A. were being improperly used on the www.globalvalores.es web page, which is a Spanish domain.

The message, signed by the Commission’s President, Juan Manuel Martans, states that globalvalores.es “has not been authorized to serve as a securities or investment intermediary in or from Panama,” warning investors to take the necessary precautions to avoid becoming a victim.

“Global Valores” claims to offer financial, fiscal, and real estate consulting. On its web page, it displays the supposed offices in Panama, Spain and the United States.

Martans told La Estrella that it is a case of “name usurpation of a Panamanian investment house to confuse the public, which leads to frauds or scams.”