A Bill that seeks to prohibit Ponzi and Pyramid schemes has scaled through its second reading at the House of Representatives.
The Bill also seeks to repeal and re-enact the Nigerian Capital Market, Investment, and Security Act.
The Bill when signed into law, will enable promotes of such to face up to ten years in prison.
The Bill titled, ‘A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Investments and Securities Act, 2007 and Enact the Investments and Securities Bill to Establish Securities and Exchange Commission as the Apex Regulatory Authority for the Nigerian Capital Market as well as Regulation of the Market to Ensure Capital Formation, the Protection of the Market to Ensure Capital Formation, the Protection of Investors, Maintain Fair, Efficient and Transparent Market and Reduction of Systematic Risk; and for Related Matters’ was proposed by the chairman of House Committee on the capital market, Hon. Ibrahim Babangida.
According to the lawmaker, he said the “current trends in capital market regulation have made it imperative to make major improvements to the Act to align our market with international standards.”
He said the Bill seeks enhancement of provisions relating to efficient regulation of investment schemes and to effectively combat the proliferation of Ponzi schemes in Nigeria.
He added that the bill will empower the Security and Exchange Commission to shut down such prohibited investment schemes.
Ibrahim also expressed optimism that the Securities and Exchange Commission would in the nearest future be able to impose strict punishment on promoters of Ponzi schemes and other unregistered investment schemes if changes to its laws were passed by the National Assembly.
While explaining, he said “The current Act regulating the capital market in the securities and investments act of 2007 was signed by the late Umaru Musa when he was the president.
He said “If you calculate from 2007 to date it’s about 15 years. The current reality in the capital market requires that those regulations be improved to enable the regulators (SEC) to perform their optimum functions. That is why, we are revealing the ACT because some essential part of the ACT requires amendments, and also there is a need to introduce some new sessions of the ACT. The original ACT contains about 316 sections but the current one contains about 351 sections.”
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