• President of UOKiK has pressed charges to Assay Management and Assay ASI, a company managed by Assay Management, offering “investment bills of exchange”. He has also issued a consumer warning.
• Does anyone call you and offer an alternative investment for a fixed, secured interest rate? With regular interest payments and capital return? Consumer, mind your savings!

Assay Management deals with customer acquisition for Assay Management Alternative Investment Company (Assay ASI) and encourages to conclude a bill of exchange agreement it offers. According to the entrepreneur, it is a risk-free investment with fixed interest rate and regular interest payments. Declarations of benefits from the purchase of investment bills of exchange are accompanied by assurance that the activities of the Assay Group are supervised by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority.

President of UOKiK has accused Assay Management of infringing the collective interests of consumers for the dissemination of the aforementioned information. The proceedings are also pending against Assay Management Alternate Investment Company (Assay ASI) which is the issuer of bills of exchange and against Assay Group managers. Both companies are at risk of a fine of up to 10% of their turnover while the members of the Management Board may be held liable for up to PLN 2 million.

The information gathered in the course of the investigation has shown that there is a high risk that consumers will lose their invested funds. Therefore, President of UOKIK has decided to issue a consumer warning concerning Assay ASI.

According to the UOKiK's findings, information provided to consumers may mislead as to the degree of certainty for obtaining future financial benefits on the investment in ASI's bill of exchange agreement which in fact does not guarantee the profits declared by the company. Similarly, assurances that Assay Group activities are supervised by the PFSA may suggest that such a control covers the promoted offer of "investment bills" which is not true.

For the funds provided by consumers under the bill of exchange agreement, Assay ASI acquires shares and shares in start-ups. The condition for receiving disbursements is the stable functioning of those entities which, however, are at an initial stage of development and offer innovative solutions, pose a risk of loss of liquidity. Moreover, the mere use of bills of exchange in relations with consumers, as Assay ASI does, is contrary to its function. The company uses it to raise capital which results in transferring the risk of its investment activity to consumers. The safety of such a product is guaranteed only by the solvency of its issuer.

- Assay Management company communicates false information about the certainty of obtaining financial benefits from bill of exchange agreements offered by Assay ASI. Consumers have a right to assume that the message addressed to them is reliable, does not mislead and takes into account all relevant information - on this basis they make decisions regarding the management of their savings – says President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny.

The charges against Assay Management, Assay Alternative Investment Company (Assay ASI) and members of the Assay Group's Management Board are not the only actions of the Authority in the “investment bills” case. At the end of 2022 President of UOKiK issued a decision concerning BREWE Leasing imposing more than PLN 150 thousand in fines on this company, and in June 2021 he imposed almost PLN 400 thousand in fines on the Yanok Mortgage Fund which this way collected funds for its operations.

Moreover, since February 2023, there have been proceedings against Aforti Holding which has also offered bills of exchange to consumers in order to raise capital. The company is at risk of a fine of up to 10% of its turnover.

Consumer warning

Pursuant to the Act on Competition and Consumer Protection, President of UOKiK issues a consumer warning when he has a reasonable suspicion that an entrepreneur applies an illegal practice which may expose a wide range of consumers to significant financial losses or adverse effects. Warnings are published on the website of UOKiK.

Consumer, stay sharp

• In the regulations, there is no such term as “investment bill of exchange”. It was invented by entrepreneurs to describe another product enabling them to raise capital.
• The security guarantor for the "investment bill" is only the solvency of its issuer – they are not secured by the guarantee system of the Bank Guarantee Fund or are not subject to supervision by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority.
• In the event the bill issuer goes bankrupt, consumers may not get their money back.

• Offers erroneously inform about the guaranteed rate of return and certainty of distributions – meanwhile the investment is subject to a serious risk.
• The bill of exchange is not a right to participate in an alternative investment company. The rules and requirements for the public issue of securities do not apply here. This means that consumers may not receive reliable information about the value of the security for such a bill of exchange, its issuer or the risk, as well as about the undertaking for which they entrust their funds.

Answers to the most frequent questions about 'investment bills' (in the alternative investment section).

Consumer Support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 222 66 76 76 – consumer helpline
E-mail: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer Ombudsmen – in your town or district
Financial Ombudsman – when a complaint has been rejected by a financial institution

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone: 22 55 60 246
Email: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL
You can also follow us on Instagram: @uokikgovpl