CBN WARNS NIGERIANS TO AVOID DEALING WITH ILLEGAL, UNLICENSED FINANCIAL OPERATORS
By Emmanuel Adefeso Esq.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned Nigerians to avoid dealing with illegal and unlicensed financial operators who lure and defraud members of the public.
The Apex Bank in its statement said the increase in the activities of Illegal Financial Operators (IFOs) is becoming worrisome and portends a grave risk to public confidence and the stability of the Nigerian Financial System. The statement contained as follows: “The Financial Services Regulation Coordination Committee (FSRCC) wishes to draw the attention of the general public to the worrisome increase in the
activities of the Illegal Financial Operators (IFOs) which portends grave risk to public confidence and the stability of the Nigerian Financial System. The FSRCC in its continuing efforts to end the scourge of IFOs in Nigeria hereby issues the following advisory: The general public is advised to refrain from dealing with unlicensed or illegal financial operators, who lure and defraud unsuspecting members of the public by offering extra-ordinary returns on investments as bait”. CBN therefore advised members of the public to visit its official website and that of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other relevant member agencies of the FSRCC to verify the registration and license status of such companies and schemes before investing in them.
There have been litanies of agitations by Nigerians on the excesses of the so called unlicensed financial operators roaming within our economic stratosphere. Therefore, the warnings issued by the Apex financial institution in Nigeria on their illegal operations is commendable, nevertheless, the CBN and other relevant agencies of government needs to do more than warnings. They need to put measures in place to check the activities of the so called unlicensed financial operators and ensure that violators are apprehended, prosecuted and/or ruthlessly dealt with, according to law.