ILLEGAL FUND MANAGERS: SEC TO INVESTIGATE BANKS' CONNIVANCE

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to investigate alleged connivance of commercial banks in Plateau State in illegal fund management.

Mr Eric Elujekor, the Head of Department, Enforcement and Compliance of the commission, made this known in Jos at the weekend.

In a statement made available to LEADERSHIP by SEC's spokesperson, Mr. Yakubu Olalye, the team leader, who led the sealing of two illegal fund outfits, Green Planet Association International Bukuru and Wiscom Ventures, Jos North, said that commercial banks' connivance had to be investigated.

Elujekor said in order to restore the customers' confidence in financial institutions, SEC would carry out a thorough investigation on the issue. “Investors who volunteered information to SEC officials have said that they were encouraged to part with their monies because they saw bank officials in those offices receiving money.

“They said that the bank officials after receiving their money now go to personally deposit it with their banks. So it is something that we need to investigate,' he said.

He said that the outfits were illegal because majority of them were not licenced by SEC. “Some of them were licenced as fund managers, but as fund managers if you want to mobilise fund and invest, you have to register the fund with SEC. Even those we registered as fund managers never registered the fund they are floating.' he declared.

Operators of some of the illegal funds outfits resisted all attempts by SEC to seal their premises forcing SEC officials to beat a retreat. Some of them said that SEC was only being officious like other security agencies.

At one of the illegal operators -Guarantee Global Resource (House of Wealth), one of the investors, Adams Saleh, said that they were on queue waiting to be paid interests on their investment.“We trust them, they give us information on the telephone, I invested N500, 000,'' he said.