The law also covers influencers and bloggers who promote fraudulent schemes, with clear penalties, including imprisonment.
Influencers on social media and bloggers have been cautioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) not to promote investment schemes that are not registered with the SEC.
The warning was made in a notice that was published on Sunday in Abuja by Dr. Emomotimi Agama, who is the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In order to investigate and prosecute those who violated the law, he stated that the commission was collaborating closely with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Police Force, and other government institutions that fit the bill.
According to Agama, the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which was just recently passed into law is aimed primarily against those individuals who promote unregistered investment schemes.
With the threat of facing legal repercussions, he asked influential people, bloggers, and celebrities to refrain from endorsing such businesses.
“The law also covers influencers and bloggers who promote fraudulent schemes, with clear penalties, including imprisonment.
“We are using this opportunity to warn such individuals to immediately desist from promoting unregistered entities
“We have dealt with similar schemes in the past and will continue to do so, leveraging the powers of the ISA 2025 to safeguard investors and develop the capital market.”
As an example of a wake-up call, Agama pointed to the recent failure of CBEX, a digital investment platform that is accused of scamming Nigerians out of more than N1.3 trillion!
At the same time, he pointed out that CBEX’s claims of global alliances and its pledges of tripling investments within a month were both apparent indications of fraudulent activity.
“The collapse of CBEX underscores the urgency of our crackdown. We are shutting down their operations, and the promoters will face the full weight of the law.
“The SEC has also established dedicated departments to monitor market activities and conduct inspections aimed at detecting irregularities early. These proactive measures are designed to prevent large-scale frauds like CBEX from recurring.”