The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a strong warning to celebrities, influencers, and bloggers against endorsing unregistered investment platforms, stressing that violators risk 10 years imprisonment and a minimum fine of N20 million.
This warning comes in the wake of the recently signed Investments and Securities Act 2025, endorsed by President Bola Tinubu, which grants the SEC enhanced powers to regulate and sanction promoters of Ponzi and other fraudulent schemes.
Speaking on Sunday, SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama emphasized that the law explicitly targets those who use their platforms to promote such schemes, stating:
“The law also targets influencers and bloggers who promote fraudulent schemes, with clear penalties including imprisonment.”
The commission’s stern stance follows the collapse of CBEX, a digital investment platform alleged to have swindled Nigerians out of over N1.3 trillion. The fallout from the scandal has prompted the SEC to launch an aggressive crackdown on Ponzi scheme operators.
Agama revealed that the SEC is now working closely with the EFCC, the Nigeria Police Force, and other law enforcement bodies to track, investigate, and prosecute all individuals involved in such schemes—both promoters and public endorsers.
“We are therefore using this medium to warn such persons to desist from promoting unregistered entities,” he stated. “We will shut down their operations and the promoters will be made to face the full weight of the law.”
The SEC urged the public to exercise caution and verify the registration status of investment companies before committing funds, stressing that greed and ignorance often drive the public into the hands of fraudsters.
The warning is seen as a major move to curb the spread of financial scams, particularly those that thrive through celebrity endorsements on social media.
