SEC seals firm over alleged Ponzi scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sealed the premises of Ready Finance Investors Limited for engaging in illegal investment and other capital market activities.

This was made known in a statement issued by the commission, where it stated that the office situated at Flat 5, AYA Memorial Plaza, Nkwere  Street, Area 11, Garki, Abuja was sealed up and shut down on Tuesday for offering a range of financial investment services and schemes suggestive of a covert Ponzi scheme.

It noted that the scheme entices clients with promises of fixed returns on investment, contingent upon the specific package to which a client subscribes.

The statement added that the firm is not registered with the commission to conduct any activities in the capital market, rendering its operations and activities illegal. The matter is currently under the purview of law enforcement agencies for criminal investigation and subsequent prosecution, it noted.

SEC warned that any person subscribing to any of the company’s products/schemes or dealing with it in any capital market-related business is doing so at his/her own risk.

In addition to sealing up the premises of offenders, other efforts by the commission to curb the operations of illegal capital market operators in Nigeria include the amendment of its Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) Regulation 2022 in line with the findings from the National Residual Risk Assessment (NRRA) exercise; new frameworks on the implementation of Targeted Financial Sanctions (TFS), risk-based supervision and guidance on Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), among others.