SEC Flags 10 Ponzi and Illegal Investment Schemes in Nigeria, Provides Link to Verify Authenticity

• Nigerian investors are to take note of the ten companies and investment platforms that the SEC has flagged in 2025
• The SEC described them as unregistered and unlicensed to operate in Nigeria's capital market or solicit investments from NIgerians
• It has become quite rampant to have unregistered and fraudulent companies pose as legitimate investment schemes to the public

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon, a Legit.ng journalist, has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

While the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) plays its part by tracking down offenders, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been heavy on protecting Nigerians from the activities of fraudsters.

This gives the SEC the proactive responsibility of identifying investment scams ahead and notifying Nigerians, while EFCC only comes in much later when the scam has been exposed.

In 2025 alone, the SEC has flagged about 10 illegal investment platforms and potential Ponzi Scheme operators, warning Nigerians to avoid investing in them.

A few of these flagged schemes would later go on to crash like several in the past.

For instance, the popular CBEX crashed in April, trapping trillions of naira belonging to Nigerians.

CBEX has been classified in the same group as other high-profile scams like MMM Nigeria, MBA Forex, Famzhi Interbiz, and others that cost investors huge sums of money in the past.

Here are the schemes that SEC has flagged in 2025.

UYJ Multitrade Limited (“My Share”): On March 6, the SEC issued a notice flagging two operators for soliciting funds from the public without proper licensing.

Pro-Vest (Promiseland Estate and Construction Ltd): This was the second operator flagged on March 6, 2025. The operator later took a step to legalise its operations by applying to the SEC to float a crowdfunding platform.

CBEX (Crypto Bridge Exchange): On April 17, 2025, CBEX flagged CBEX (Crypto Bridge Exchange), operated by ST Technologies International Limited, as an unregistered and unlicensed operator soliciting funds from the public for investment. It was only a matter of days after this that CBEX crashed along with its promises of 100% returns in 30 days.

Tofro.com: On 30 April 2025, the SEC flagged Tofro as an illegal entity posing as a cryptocurrency investment platform and luring investors.

Property World Africa Network (PWAN/PWAN Max): While PWAN has been in operation for some years, it was only on 6 May 2025 that the SEC flagged it for soliciting funds illegally for real estate investments as it was not licensed to.

Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society (Silverkuun Limited) was flagged on 28 May 2025 as an unregistered entity posing as a legitimate investment adviser.

Punisher Coin ($PUN): On 5 June, the SEC flagged this as an unregistered meme coin with zero intrinsic value or backing, and urged Nigerians to avoid its pre-launch sales.

ZugaCoin & SamZuga GPT: Both of these were flagged on 17 June 2025.

Sapphire Scents Limited: On 19 June 2025, the SEC flagged Sapphire Scents as an unregistered entity posing as an investment adviser and soliciting funds from unsuspecting Nigerians.

CMTrading: This is the latest and was flagged on 20 June 2025.

In every one of these scenarios, the message is the same with the SEC warning Nigerians that these companies were neither registered nor licensed to operate in Nigeria’s capital market.

The notice reads:

“The public is strongly advised to always verify the registration status of any entity or individual offering investment services through the Commission’s website or the dedicated CMOs portal.”

Despite all of these warnings, many Nigerians still go ahead to invest and only come out to cry foul when things go south.

This has prompted some industry observers to suggest some penalties for the investors as well.

David Adonri, Vice Chairman of Highcap Securities, recommended that people who invest in such platforms especially after the public notices and warnings should be punished for aiding the perpetration of fraud in Nigeria.

SEC unable to identify all Ponzi operators

The SEC Director General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, explained the challenge of spotting and identifying all unregistered entities in Nigeria. He noted that many are operating but never come to the notice of the commission until users file a complaint about a suspected case.

There have also been judicial challenges and system delays that undermine the commission’s effort to clamp down on the criminals.

Notwithstanding, some of these have been resolved with the signing of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, in March.

FG declares unregistered platforms illegal

In related news, the newly signed Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 has brought virtual asset service providers and digital asset exchanges under the regulatory jurisdiction of the SEC.

Legit.ng reported that the law allows the SEC to enforce stiffer penalties for operators of illegal investment and Ponzi schemes, ranging from N20 million in fines to up to 10 years in prison.

The law also made online foreign exchange and other trading platforms illegal unless duly registered and licenced by the SEC.

Source: Legit.ng