By GINIKA OKOYE

The Exchange Commission (SEC) has said those who initiate and promote Ponzi schemes in Nigeria will face the consequences by being brought to the book.

Mrs Efe Ebelo, Head, Corporate Communication of SEC, in a statement, said the commission’s Acting Director-General, Ms Mary Uduk, gave the warning in Abuja on Sunday.

Uduk said the commission was stepping up its regulatory oversight to ensure that such illegal entities were sealed off quickly.

According to her, ponzi schemes are illegal and that is reason the commission keeps warning the public about the dangers of these outfits.

“Once we have information of anyone engaging in illegal fund management business, our enforcement department working with our police unit, will shuts them down.

“The promoters are handed over to the relevant law enforcement agencies for further actions,” she explained.

Uduk noted that the capital market had been properly positioned to attract Nigerians and other investors to provide benefits to those who invest in it.

She said that the commission had sustained its investor’s education programme to assist people to understand issues around the capital market.

The acting director-general said that some of the safest areas to invest in the market were in mutual funds and collective investment schemes.

Uduk noted that SEC was presently undertaking various initiatives to make the capital market more user-friendly such that people could participate with ease, comfort and convenience.

“There is the added and all-important purpose of ensuring that the gains of your participation, be it dividends, proceeds from share sales/transfers accrue to you seamlessly, without sweat and in the shortest time possible.

“The purpose is also to ensure that investors do not fall victim to the antics of fraudsters who purport to be able to double any amount of money you make available to them as investment value.

“We want a deeper market and we believe that with these combinations, we will reduce the number of ponzi schemes coming up and reduce the number of investors putting their money into the schemes,” she said.

Ponzi scheme is prohibited by the provisions of Section 38(1) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007.

It does not allow people that are not registered by SEC to collect money from the public. (NAN)

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