SEC Declares War on Rule Violators in Capital Market, Vows to Hunt Down Unscrupulous Elements
- The SEC has declared its intention to hunt down fraudsters and rule violators operating in the capital market
- The SEC DG said that the year 2025 will feature more license revocations and suspensions of non-compliant operators
- He also urged market operators to adhere to the regulator's compliance and information disclosure requirements
Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared war on all rule violators operating in Nigeria’s capital market, stressing that there will be no hiding place.
The regulator noted that it would be taking action against all market operators engaging in unscrupulous or questionable activities.
The SEC director general, Dr Emomotimi Agama, gave the warning in a statement issued to operators on Sunday.
Source: Getty Images
Agama described the recent SEC actions of revoking licenses and suspending some operators as just a tip of the iceberg as the commission will be hunting down defaulters in 2025.
He said;
“We believe strongly that a protected investor is a powerful investor and we will do everything within the powers of the SEC and the Nigerian law to make sure that we deter unscrupulous persons who are involved in trying to defraud Nigerian investors.”
SEC vows to protect investors
The SEC DG noted further that the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 clearly lists investors’ protection as part of the core responsibilities of the commission in Nigeria, Leadership News reports.
Agama noted that there is also a form of self-regulation because operators are expected to know and enforce what is right in their activities before the SEC has to bring them out for default.
He observed that the ethics of registering or regulating operators in the securities market mandates that they must pass a fit and proper test, and satisfy all of the regulators laid down requirements.
He said;
“There is no hiding place anymore for anybody that has an intention to defraud Nigerians and to defraud anybody that is investing in this market.”
He also encouraged market operators to ensure that they keep to the compliance and information disclosure objectives of the regulator, to foster growth in the capital market.
Source: Getty Images
Stiffer penalties for Ponzi scheme operators, fraudsters
Agama disclosed that there will be stiffer penalties for operators of ponzi schemes, once the new Investment and Securities Act (ISA), recently passed by the National Assembly gets presidential assent.
Other fraudulent scheme operators will also get harsher punishments under the act, providing more security for Nigerian investors.
SEC exposes fraudulent schemes
Recall that the commission recently released a list of unregistered investment schemes that the public must avoid.
This includes Promiseland Estates Limited and Promiseland Building & Construction Limited, and UYJ Multitrade Limited, popularly known as My Share.
Explaining the actions of the regulator, Mr. Ugochukwu Obichukwu, noted that this is not a function of whether the company is genuine or not, but an indication that the company has failed to follow due procedure to get assessed and registered.
Mr. Obichukwu, a foremost economic analyst, puts it this way;
“These companies may have good intentions but the fact is that you cannot generate money from the public for investments, without getting properly registered by the regulator.
"If you go public, taking money from more than 20 people and circulating information online for investment, that falls under SEC’s purview and requires checks from SEC. They need to certify the companies, confirm that they know what they are doing and it is legal, before allowing them take money from the public.”
He advised Nigerians to always visit the SEC website to confirm the approval status of a company before putting money, especially when the firm promises unusually high returns.
Provest seeks SEC approval after being blacklisted
In related news, the firm behind the illicit Provest investment scheme has applied for SEC approval to float a crowdfunding platform.
This was one of the companies the SEC recently warned Nigerians against investing with, as it was not licensed to collect public investment funds.
Provest has promised that the funds obtained from its crowdfunding platform will be spent transparently on real estate projects.
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Source: Legit.ng
