The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria on Tuesday sealed the office of Stockmatch Investments Ltd in Maiduguri, Borno State, for allegedly engaging in illegal investment activities.
In a statement issued by the commission on the regulatory action, it disclosed that the sealing of the firm’s premises was in furtherance of its commitment to ensure that unregistered entities are not allowed to engage in capital market functions.
According to the capital market regulator, the office of the company located in Wulari Plaza on Lagos Street Maiduguri, was closed for allegedly engaging in investment operations in form of fund management without authorization by it.
The SEC stated: “This company does not have registration of the SEC to conduct fund management activities and has been found to promise exorbitant rates of returns to lure investors. The SEC has exercised its powers under Section 13 (w) Investments and Securities Act 2007, to shut it down.
“The commission hereby notifies the investing public that neither this entity nor its investment platforms are registered by the SEC.
“The public is hereby reminded that it is unlawful for any private enterprise whether incorporated as a company or not, to solicit funds from the public by whatever means, to fund its private ventures as doing this will be in contravention of the Investments and Securities Act, 2007″, it added.
The Commission, therefore, advised the public to always confirm from the commission whether or not an entity providing investment services had been duly registered and whether the investment schemes were authorized by it.
While warning members of the public that anyone dealing with unregistered entities is doing so at his/her own risk, the SEC urged them to exercise due diligence and caution in making investment decisions, adding that a list of valid operators can be obtained on its website.
It would be recalled that the SEC’s Director-General, Lamido Yuguda, had during the just concluded commission’s second Capital Market Committee (CMC) reminded the market operators on the series of circulars issued by the Commission aimed at protecting investors from the activities of unregistered schemes.
According to him, as part of the capital market regulator’s continued efforts to protect the investing public, the commission had amended its Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) Regulation 2022 in line with the findings from the National Residual Risk Assessment (NRRA) exercise even as new frameworks on the implementation of Targeted Financial Sanctions (TFS), Risk-based Supervision and guidance on Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) were developed for the market.
