The Port Harcourt Zonal Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE Aliyu Naibi, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for support in tackling fraudulent investment managers operating in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria.
Naibi made this call in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Tuesday, 14, September, while receiving the Rivers State Branch Controller, CBN, Mrs. Oruwari O. B, who paid him a courtesy visit.
TheFact Nigeria reports that within the last few months, illegal fund managers have adopted various strategies to collect money from would-be investors, and the proliferation of these unlawful investment outfits in the nation’s capital market across the country has become a source of worry for the entire capital market community.
Naibi lamented the alarming cases of fraudulent investment managers in Rivers State and the attendant loss of funds by various investors, and sued for more support from the CBN to stem the tide of such cases.
“We are investigating several cases involving fraudulent investment managers, Ponzi scheme operators and other related cases here in the Port Harcourt Zonal Command. We cannot investigate any investment fraud case without the CBN. We need to know whether such investment managers are licensed or not because they always claim that they are licensed by the CBN”, Naibi said.
He explained that though the CBN was always referring investigators of fraudulent investment schemes to the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, the apex bank could still be supportive in debunking claims of such dubious managers.
In her response, Oruwari said that the CBN was aware of issues related to the fraudulent investment managers and was working to create more public and market awareness about their sharp practices. She also commended the EFCC for building effective public consciousness about economic and financial crimes and their accompanying consequences.
“Many people are conscious that the EFCC is around, so they are more careful”, she said.
She called for more collaboration between the two agencies, stressing that “we are both talking finance, money, crime and other related issues. We feel we need to collaborate more”.
