Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that the passage of the proposed Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) will check the rise of Ponzi/Pyramid schemes as well as other illegal investment schemes.
This was disclosed in a statement by the SEC director-general, Mr. Lamido Yuguda, on Sunday in Abuja.
He also added that it will boost growth in Nigeria’s financial services industry.
Yuguda noted that passage of the bill will facilitate the effective functioning of the capital market to make it more competitive and also help in the ongoing economic diversification in the country.
Proposed Investment And Securities Bill Will Prevent Ponzi schemes – SEC
He urged lawmakers to make the bill a reality, citing that expanding the categories of issuers is a key step toward the introduction of new innovations and offerings such as crowd-funding.
”Importantly, the bill introduces an express prohibition of Ponzi/pyramid schemes as well as other illegal investment schemes.
”The bill also prescribes a jail term of not less than 10 years for promoters of such schemes.
”It expands the definition of a Collective Investment Scheme to include schemes offered privately to qualified investors.
”Minor reviews on various sections of the extant law have been carried out to provide greater clarity,” he said.
He noted that collaboration with National Pension Commission (PenCom) on the SEC Board for increased synergy is a major factor of the bill, which would also be beneficial to the Nigerian pension fund industry.
Source: Nairametrics