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SEC warns investors on FinAfrica Investment, Chimark Group
Nigerian’s apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has described the operations of FinAfrica Investment Limited and Chimark Group as illegal, warning the investing public against the two firms.
The SEC had, in a circular, explained that its attention had been drawn to the activities of an illegal operator, FinAfrica Investment Limited, which stated to be an investment company that engages in business development in commercial sectors of the economy but uses the funds in entities under Chimark Group.
According to SEC, “Neither FinAfrica Investment Limited nor Chimark Group is registered by the Commission and the investment schemes being promoted by these entities are also not authorized by the SEC. In view of the above, the general public is hereby warned that any person dealing with the within named company in any capital market related business is doing so at his or her own risk”.
The latest circular came on the heels of the declaration of another firm, Poyoyo Investment (Pilvest) Nigeria Limited, as a Ponzi scheme, poised to defraud unsuspecting investors of which SEC had calimed that electronic and WhatsApp messages were being circulated to investors on behalf of Pilvest by unidentified persons.
The Commission noted that contents of the electronic message indicates a proposal to invest in guaranteed investment plans of either a minimum capital of N100,000 for a period of one month with a returns on investment (ROI) of 20 per cent or a minimum capital of N300,000 invested for a period of three months with a monthly ROI of 23 per cent monthly by which total ROI yield would be 69 per cent or a minimum capital of N500,000 invested for a period of six months with a ROI of 25 per cent monthly and total ROI of 150 per cent or a minimum capital of N1 million invested for a period of one year with a ROI of 30 per cent monthly and total ROI of 360 per cent.
In its warning, SEC emphatically noted that, “Besides the obvious errors in the returns calculations above, preliminary investigation has revealed that Poyoyo Investment (PILVEST) Nigeria Limited is purely a Ponzi scheme as it is a non-sustainable business model that involves the collection of money from unsuspecting investors with a promise of high return without any underlying assets. The Commission hereby notifies the investing public that Poyoyo Investment (PILVEST) Nigeria Limited have no tangible business model; hence it is a PONZI SCHEME where returns are paid from other people’s invested sum. Also, its operation is not registered by the Commission”.