Business
SEC Seals Illegal Fund Manager’s Office
The operations of an alleged illegal fund manager, Avenue to Wealth Limited came to a halt yesterday, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), yesterday sealed off the office premises after several months of complaints by subscribers to the fund.
This action, according to SEC, took the combined team of both plain and uniformed police officers from both the commission and the Oduduwa Police Command Headquarter in Ikeja, to seal off the fund manager’s premises whose operation office is located within the serene Olufumilola Okikolu Street off Toyin Street Ikeja
The Assistant Director, Enforcement and Compliance, SEC and leader of the enforcement team, Benard Ebe, said the commission had in the last three months being inundated with series of complaints of fraud from investors in the fund manager’s scheme, noting that to guide against other people fallen victim, the commission had to move swiftly.
According to him, for any entity to engage in any manner of fund management, such organisation must as duty and process of law register their operations with the commission and anything fallen short of this will amount to illegal operations and which is another form of a Ponzi Scheme.
“They lure people to bring their money to them and in the process they pay dividend or interest as the case may be. From there they pay the initial investors in the scheme, but when the investors have brought a lot other investors on board of the scheme, they will short their premises, thereby making several investors losing million of naira, “he said.
The SEC move saw four top officials of the fund managers, including the Managing Director, Adeolu Akinyemi, being taken into custody at the Area ‘F’ Police command.
Ebe added, ”Three months ago, details operation of the company came to the commission. Section 153 of the Investment and Security Act (ISA) showed that operators of such fund must obtain licence, to ensure close monitoring by the commission and more so, they are expected to file returns to the commission.
However, one of the officials who claimed to be advisor to Avenue to Wealth, but who did not disclose his name, said their operation was registered with the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture as a Co-operative Society.
Other schemes engage in by the fund managers, include, Network Signup Vouchers, Estate Rentals, Real Estate, Retail Supermarket Electronics, IT Gadgets, Fund Co-operative, our place investment, ATM 20, ATM 40, Travel and Telecoms scheme among others.