Ponzi schemers now target Capital market

Fraudsters posing as stock brokers are said to have invaded the capital market promising shareholders huge returns on investments within a very short time.

This is similar to Ponzi Schemes in which the fraudster promises their target huge returns as interest on their money. The only difference is that under Portfolio Management, the investor releases his/her shares to be sold by the stock broker, while in a pure ponzi scheme, cash is paid to the fraudster.

This was made known by Adesola Amusan, Head, Capital Markets and Insurance Unit of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a public warning put out by the agency.

The commission, while urging the public to there is a need for the public to be acquainted with recent trends in Capital Markets related fraud, noted that until recently, Capital Markets scams usually involved transfer of shares from one Stock broking house to another one of the syndicate fraudster’s choice where the shares are fraudulently sold without the knowledge of the real owner.

Read also: Senate moves to review capital market laws

It also involved stealing of share certificates, stealing of dividend warrants and clearing them through a fraudulent bank account opened in the name of the original owner. The fraudsters usually target accounts which have been dormant for a long period as well as shares of deceased investors.

This fraud, the EFCC said, is carried out in connivance with a syndicate at Nigerian Stock Exchange/Central Securities Clearing System and Registrars of the Companies whose shares are traded.

Sometimes the scammers lodge the cheques issued to them by the stock broking firms and clear them through Microfinance banks. The Microfinance banks are currently being used by these fraudsters because they are not yet compliant with the Bank Verification Number system.

In recent times, one of the new modes of fraud in the Capital Markets is Portfolio Management Scams. Under this method, the investor is persuaded to release his shares to the stock broking firm hoping to receive the promised returns which the stock broking firm may not honour.

Meanwhile all the shares of the investor will be sold by the stock broking firm and the proceeds used for other personal interest, making it difficult for the stock broking firm to buy back the shares for the investor when required.

Amusan, strongly recommended that members of the public should regularly log into the websites of Nigerian Stock Exchange – NSE (www.nigeriastockexchange.com), Securities and Exchange Commission – SEC (www.sec.gov.ng), and Central Securities Clearing System – CSCS (www.cscsnigeria.com) to verify the status of any Stock Broking Firm whether the firm is registered or under suspension, before subscribing to any of their offers.

He also warned investors not to give their hard earned money to any individual or company that promises to turn their money around within a short period with a guarantee to pay them huge returns that are in excess of the average returns in the financial system.

He also advised the shareholders to obtain and fill a trade alert form with the CSCS which will enable them to receive “alerts” any time there is a transaction on their stock broking accounts.

Amusan further appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to consider bringing Micro Finance Banks to comply with the Bank Verification Number (BVN) scheme so as to curtail fraud still being perpetrated through them, and bring an end to the practice of fraudulent clearing of cheques.

 

 

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