Nigerian Government Cracks Down on Illegal Investments

The Nigerian government has announced that promoters and operators of entities engaged in prohibited investment schemes will face a minimum penalty of ₦20 million, a 10-year prison term, or both.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, stated that this provision is part of the newly signed Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025.

The DG was a guest on the business show of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) yesterday where he gave the highlights of the ISA 2025.

Take a look.#isa2025 pic.twitter.com/qWNuCANbqR

— SEC Nigeria (@SECNigeria) April 1, 2025

President Bola Tinubu recently assented to the Act, which aims to strengthen Nigeria’s capital market regulations. According to Agama, the new law grants the SEC the legal authority to prosecute Ponzi scheme operators, addressing a previous gap that made it difficult to bring offenders to justice.

He further noted that the Act would enhance investor protection, introduce reforms to promote market integrity, and ensure greater transparency and sustainable growth in the financial sector.

”So, N20 million is not the entire penalty or the entire money that will be charged or sanctioned to any suspect or any accused capital market or non-capital market operator.

”It is just part of the penalties and/or the sanctions that will be meted out against such persons.

”Any profits or gains obtained from defrauding Nigerians will be recovered because it is not about the quantum of the fraud; it is about sanctions that will deter people from even getting into it.

”We recognise that a lot of Nigerians have fallen prey to these schemes and the reason why that is the case is because there were no sanctions.

”Protecting the investors in Nigeria is a cardinal responsibility of the SEC and this law has provided the SEC with stronger powers to be able to do that,” he said.

The director-general said the Act had also introduced transformative provisions to further align Nigeria’s market operations with international best practices.

The ISA, 2025, had repealed the Investments and Securities Act No. 29 of 2007.