SEC to prosecute unlicensed crowd-funding firms

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has vowed to prosecute unregistered investment crowd-funding platforms if they fail to register with the commission.

The Director General of SEC, Lamido A. Yuguda, said the decision, which was made during the SEC’s Virtual Capital Market Committee Meeting, said the measure was adopted as part of our efforts to stem the tide of fraudulent activities in the sector.

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Yuguda said the commission has an existing regulatory framework that permits private companies with the required structure and mechanism to raise capital from the public through crowdfunding, while urging crowdfunding platforms to register with the commission.

He reiterated its commitment to fulfil its mandate of protecting investors and creating an enabling environment for market operations.

The DG also urged all stakeholders to continue to work towards reducing the volume of unclaimed dividends as stiff penalties would be meted out to any stakeholder whose actions appeared to frustrate its efforts.

“The commission noted that in spite of its efforts in the implementation of the Electronic Dividend Mandate Management System (eDMMS), investors have continued to lament the delayed payments of e-dividend and the cumbersome manual process among other shortcomings,” he said.

Similarly, the SEC has urged the federal government to consider its proposal to exempt corporate bonds from the payment of tax.

The federal government had in 2012 exempted bonds and short-term government securities from income tax for 10 years, which expired on January 1, 2022.

But speaking on the tax on corporate bonds, the SEC boss said the decision to seek tax exemption would help to unlock the attractiveness of the corporate bond market.

He said: “The commission continues its engagement with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the request for tax exemption for corporate bonds.

“For any asset class, the investment is a function of many considerations. Tax is just one of those considerations. Although it is only one, it is an important consideration especially when the tax rate is high.”

The SEC DG also said the revised Capital Market Masterplan would be launched by November following its approval by the federal government.

The Capital Market Master Plan Implementation Council had in June this year submitted the revised Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan (2021 -2025) to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.