SEC Licensing Crackdown: Court Convicts 21 Unlicensed Investment Firms, Imposes ₦30m Fine Each

The Federal High Court in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has convicted 21 corporate entities for carrying out financial investment services and operating without valid licenses from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Presiding Judge, Justice Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa, handed down a ₦30 million fine to each company, alongside an order directing them to pay an additional ₦200,000 for every day the infractions were committed.

Key highlights of the judicial enforcement include:

• List of Convicted Companies: The affected entities include Ngwuoke Daniels Technologies, Credio Banco Ltd, Digital Company Ltd, Co Request Capital Nigeria Ltd, Mega Drop Quality Stores Ltd, Norland Global Ltd, Oxford International, Creative Agriculture Cooperative, Qnet Nigeria Ltd, Qnet Professional Skill Academy Ltd, and Mastermind Energy & Agro Nigeria Ltd. Others named are Atus West Africa Investment Company, Eatrich360 Farms, Matag Agro General Services, Viables X Agribusiness Ltd, Kwakol Markets Ltd, Light Shade International Ltd, Value Growth Ltd, B12 Synergy Nigeria Ltd, Phresh Farm Ltd, and Omega Pro Global Resources.

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• Charges and Legal Breach: The companies were prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on single-count charges of illegal financial operations, violating Section 57(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), 2020. The charges centered on running specialized financial management and investment advertising schemes without SEC authorization.

• Trial in Absentia: Representatives for all 21 entities failed to appear in court when the charges were formally read. Following an application by EFCC prosecution counsel Nasir Umar, the court entered a “not guilty” plea on behalf of the absent firms and proceeded with trial based on submitted evidence.

• Five-Year Evasion of Interrogation: According to the EFCC, actionable intelligence linked the firms to investment fraud as far back as 2022. The promoters consistently ignored official invitations for interrogation issued in December 2022 and January 2023, evading scrutiny for nearly five years before the commission filed formal charges.

• Broader Regulatory Landscape: The court ruling coincides with heightened enforcement across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem. This includes recent prison sentences for unlicensed Bureau De Change (BDC) operators, as well as new proposed SEC regulations mandating registration fees up to ₦30 million and capital requirements reaching ₦2 billion for digital asset and crypto providers.