FG suspends stockbrokers

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FG suspends 42 stockbrokers - Hands over 13 to EFCC

Wednesday, May 7, 2008
DIRECTOR General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Musa al-Faki, on Tuesday disclosed that the Federal Government had suspended 42 stockbrokers for breach of rules guiding operations of the capital market.

He also stated that 13 other operators had been referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) between 2007 and this year. He made these revelations just as he said that unclaimed dividends by shareholders had risen to N12 billion at February against the N9.3 billion in December 2007.

The SEC Director General said this in Abuja while testifying before the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Capital Market and Banking and Currency. He said fines and penalties were imposed on various operators during the year for breaches ranging from late rendition of returns to submission of inaccurate returns.

He, therefore, said that the SEC law needed to be strenghtened to give the commission the power to exercise more control over companies. He told the joint committee that the premises of four companies which engaged in illegal capital market operation were sealed off within the same period while the bank accounts of 37 illegal fund managers operating in different parts of the country were also frozen.

Faki gave the names of the affected operators which the SEC referred to EFCC as Riverside Trust Limited, MBA Security Limited, Morgan Trust and Asset Management Ltd Plc, UAC Plc and Michael Adegbusi, former MD/CEO of Transglobe Investment and Finance Ltd, Wilberforce Onwuka, Akitorch Securities Ltd and Halsec Finance Ltd.

Others are Golden Guinea Breweries Ltd, Nospecto Oil and Gas Ltd, Beachgrove Securities and Investment Ltd, Asset Plus Securities Ltd, ET and T Stockbrokers Ltd and Bonkolans Investment Ltd. According to him, those already referred to the Nigerian Police by the Enforcement Division of the commission included ET and T Stockbrokers Limited, Akitorch Securities Limited, Asset Plus Securities Limited, Eagle Stockbrokers Limited, Royal Trust Limited and unregistered capital market operators in Ilorin, Gombe, Minna, Aba, Kaduna and Uyo.

Others included, Thomas Kingsley Securities Limited and Chief Kingsley Ikpe, Egbune Frederick Jibrin VS John Nsofor of GilJohn Investment Limited, Espphil Investment and Trust Limited and Mr. Philip Owoseni and Philip Aduma VS Stakeholders limited.The four companies sealed off included Triple “S” Stockbrokers Limited, CBS Chart International Limited, Exceed and Rewards Asset Management Limited and Divine Harvest International limited.

Al-Faki added that the Enforcement Division discovered 37 illegal funds managers operating in Lagos, Ibadan and Port Harcourt and obtained orders to freeze the bank accounts of the companies, adding that the commission had revoked the licenses of Viva Securities Limited, Beach Grove Securities Limited, Asset Plus Limited, Riverside Securities Limited, Akitorch Securities Limited, Morgan Trust and Asset Management Limited and Jenkins Limited.

The Director General expressed delight at the level of cooperation by the EFCC with the commission, stating that a total of 294,985 money laundering transaction reports were forwarded to the EFCC while the SEC received an average of five complaints daily.