No proposal to regulate 'finfluencers', clampdown on ponzi apps in progress: Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has cautioned people against financial influencers or 'finfluencers' and warned them to tread with caution while seeking their advice.

She also said that the Finance Ministry is working with MeitY and RBI to clamp down on ponzi apps to prevent them from taking away the hard-earned money of gullible investors, NewsDrum reported. 

Cautioning investors against ponzi apps, Sitharaman on Sunday said investors should do their due diligence and should not be lured by the claims of lucrative returns. 

"There are also apps which are coming out and reaching out to people saying we can do this, we can do that, your money will fetch you this much. Many of them are ponzi, the apps on which we are working with the Ministry concerned, MeitY and with the RBI and clamping down on them like never before, so that we don't get those ponzi apps, taking away the investor’s hard-earned money," she said. 

Speaking at the Thinkers Forum at Tumakuru (Karnataka), Sitharaman stated that social influencers and financial influencers are all out there but a strong sense of caution is required in investors to make sure that we are double checking, counter checking, and can protect our hard-earned money. 

Upon being asked about regulating social influencers and financial influencers, she said that, "I am not having any proposal before me for regulating them at this stage."

Furthermore, she asserted that investors should be cautious of influencers and while there are three-four of them giving good advice, on the other hand there are maybe seven others out of 10 who are probably driven by some other considerations.