CIAO Group (formerly traded on the pink sheets under CIAU) has received a suspension notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The enforcement division of the SEC stated;

“The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of CIAU because of questions regarding the accuracy of assertions by CIAU in press releases to investors concerning, among other things, the activities of the company with respect to business plans in the telecommunications industry and plans for an Initial Coin Offering or ICO.”

The SEC added;

“The Commission cautions broker-dealers, shareholders, and prospective purchasers that they should carefully consider the foregoing information along with all other currently available information and any information subsequently issued by the company.”

The CIAO Group also operates under the name of NuMelo Technology. The company is described as being “dedicated to discovering and developing innovative technology within the world’s emerging and frontier markets.” According to their web site, CIAO was in the process of changing their name to NuMelo Technologies Inc. In retrospect, perhaps CIAO is more appropriate.

The SEC recently drew a line when it comes to Intial Coin Offerings noting that any security related offer must be filed under a specific exemption. Otherwise the enforcement team would step in. Ciao had recently launched a “Blockchain Frontier Markets Project” that was expected to include the introduction of a Frontier Market Cryptocurrency (FMC).