The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it is intolerant of fraudulent activities in the country’s capital market and will continue to crackdown on fraudsters.
Director-general of the commission, Emomotimi Agama, who stated this, warned that operators engaging in unscrupulous practices will face strict penalties as the Commission prioritises safeguarding investor interests.
“So, clearly for us, it is getting people to understand that there is no hiding place anymore for anybody that has the intention to defraud Nigerians and to defraud anybody that is investing in this market,” Agama stated.
Reiterating the Commission’s zero-tolerance policy, he highlighted that the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 serves as the framework for securities regulation in Nigeria, ensuring that market operators adhere to high ethical standards.
The director-general further emphasized the importance of the “fit and proper person’s test,” which requires operators to meet specific regulatory criteria to maintain their licenses.
According to him, “This is because the very ethics of regulating or registering a securities market operator is in the principle of the fit and proper person’s test.
“What you have been seeing most recently by the revocation of licenses, the suspension of operators and our follow-up to operators that are not registered with the SEC is only a tip of the iceberg as to what we intend to do this year.”
Continuing, Agama assured stakeholders that the commission will leverage its regulatory powers under Nigerian law to deter fraudulent activities, noting that a protected investor is a powerful investor.
The SEC recently announced additional enforcement measures, including the introduction of a “name and shame” journal to publicly identify Capital Market Operators who violate regulations, to drive home its zero-tolerance approach to infractions in the capital market and align with its enhanced enforcement strategies.
