A Dubai-based investment scheme that already faced a nationwide ban in New Zealand is still operating there openly, prompting regulators to issue a second fraud warning in as many months.
The Financial Markets Authority shut down Validus in February, ordering it to cease all operations across the country. That didn't work. By March 20th, the FMA confirmed that seminars promoting Validus products were still being held in New Zealand despite the ban.
"We are concerned that Validus is operating in breach of the New Zealand financial markets legislation," the FMA stated in its warning. The company is providing financial services without the required registration under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008—a violation equivalent to a securities fraud charge in other jurisdictions.
The March warning was Validus's second from the FMA in six months. The agency first flagged the scheme in September. Each time, regulators stressed the same message: don't invest in unregistered and unlicensed entities.
Validus operates from Dubai and is run by Parwiz Daud and Mansour Tawafi, two operators who previously ran the OneCoin scam. The scheme has drawn regulatory action in Australia and Belgium as well.
The company's continued operation in New Zealand despite explicit bans suggests local organizers weren't taking the orders seriously. BehindMLM investigations identified Timote Makaui and Ali and Fatima Weaver as ringleaders promoting Validus across the country. If the scheme was still being actively marketed after two FMA warnings and a cease-trade order, enforcement action against the event organizers appeared necessary.
Website traffic data from March 2023 showed France, Colombia, and Brazil as Validus's top sources of visitors—19%, 11%, and 10% respectively—indicating the scheme had global reach and wasn't just a New Zealand problem.
By July 5th, 2023, the FMA moved beyond warnings. It permanently prohibited Validus from operating in New Zealand, taking a harder regulatory stance after months of ignored compliance orders.
🤖 Quick Answer
What is the Validus investment scheme and its regulatory status in New Zealand?Validus is a Dubai-based investment scheme that was shut down by New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority in February for operating without required registration. Despite the nationwide ban, the company continued holding promotional seminars in March, prompting a second fraud warning from regulators within two months.
Why did the FMA issue a second warning against Validus?
The FMA issued a second warning because Validus continued operating in breach of New Zealand financial markets legislation after the February ban. The company held seminars promoting its products in March despite the ordered cessation of all operations, demonstrating non-compliance with regulatory requirements.
What legal violations is Validus committing in New Zealand?
Validus is providing financial services without the required registration under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008, constituting an unregistered
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