SEC accuses coy of ‘illegal’ operations

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has put a disclaimer on the operations of Famzhi Interbiz Limited saying that the entity and its products are not registered or regulated by the Commission.
The Commission in a statement signed by its Head, Corporate Communication, Efe Ebelo, stated that the company, in spite of not being registered by the Commission, had proceeded to unlawfully solicit funds from the investing public on the product(s) neither registered nor approved by it.

The Commission also expressed regrets that the company had made promises of guaranteed return on investment in clear violation of the Securities and Investment Act (ISA) in 2007.

”The attention of the SEC has been drawn to the illegal fund management operation conducted by Famzhi Interbiz Limited,” the statement said.

“The commission wishes to inform the public that the company is not registered to operate in the Nigerian Capital Market.

”The company had applied to the Commission for registration to operate in the capital were but was unable to fulfil certain regulatory pre-conditions required for the registration.”

The Commission said it had referred the company to the appropriate law enforcement agency for criminal investigation and possible prosecution for violation of the Investments and Securities Act and other relevant laws in the country.

It however, advised the public to always confirm the registration status of any entity offering fund management or any other capital market services from its website https://sec.gov.ng/cmos/ or by visiting any of the Commission’s offices.

”Furthermore, any person who subscribes to any product of an unregistered entity or enters into any dealing with an entity, does so at his/her own risk,” it added.