The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Thursday, December 19, that it has stripped Robocash Finance Corp.’s authority to operate as a financing company for running several branches without the necessary license.
While Robocash has expanded offline with its various branches around the country, it started out and still is primarily an online lending company.
In the course of its monitoring procedure, the SEC found that Robocash operated several branches without the requisite CA or certificate of authority. The findings were validated through onsite audits on March 7, 2019 and July 5, 2019.
Robocash also confirmed the same during a hearing on September 20, 2019 and through various letters to the SEC. The SEC on November 13, 2019 issued a formal charge against Robocash and ordered the company to show cause why its CA should not be revoked for violation of the Financing Company Act of 1998.
In its verified answer, Robocash admitted to establishing and operating branches without the necessary CA. The company, however, argued that it did not maliciously violate the law by putting up branches without the necessary CA.
The SEC found no merit in the company’s defense.
The regulatory agency has revoked the primary registration of 2,081 lending and financing companies without the necessary CA, in an ongoing crackdown on illegal lending and financing activities.
The SEC also issued cease and desist orders against 48 online lending applications for operating without securing the required CA.
