The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has warned the public against dealing with FinAfrica Investment Ltd and Poyoyo Investment.
A circular from SEC management and posted on the commission’s website stated that the companies’ activities were not recorded by it.
The commission described Poyoyo Investment (Pilvest) Nigeria Ltd.’s business as a Ponzi scheme, where returns were paid out of other people’s invested sums.
“The SEC’s attention has been drawn to the activities of an illegal operator, FinAfrica Investment Limited.
“The company claimed to be an investment company that is dedicated to business development in the commercial sectors of the economy and uses the funds in entities of the Chinmark Group.
“The commission hereby notifies the investing public that neither FinAfrica Investment Limited nor Chinmark Group is SEC registered.
“The investment scheme promoted by these entities is not authorized by the SEC either.
“In view of the foregoing, the general public is advised that anyone dealing with the aforementioned companies in any business related to the capital market does so at their own risk,” the circular said.
He also noted that the SEC’s attention had been drawn to WhatsApp and electronic messages that are distributed to investors on behalf of Poyoyo Investment (Pilvest) Nigeria Ltd.
“The commission hereby notifies the investing public that Poyoyo Investment (PILVEST) Nigeria Limited does not have a tangible business model, therefore it is a Ponzi scheme where returns are paid with the sum invested from other people,” he added.
In reaction to the circular, Dr. Marksman Ijiomah, Chairman of Chinmark Group, told the Nigerian News Agency in an interview that FinAfrica Investment Limited was not engaged in capital markets.
Mr. Ijiomah, who disclosed that the partnership had been in existence for six years, said the SEC had never written to the company to notify them that its dealings were not in line with its regulations.
“The SEC did not qualify us as a Ponzi scheme in the circular.
“We do not do business in the capital market, we do not sell stocks or shares. We are not interested in equity financing.
“What we do is we have partners who come together and give us funds to run the business and, at the end of the month, we give them profit from the business.
“We don’t call it interest, we call it profit.
“We have been doing it for over six years and thanks to that partnership, we were able to build a six-unit hotel in Enugu.
“We have also built a restaurant in Dubai and these things are visible for all to see,” Ijiomah told NAN.
He added that the company was not involved in a Ponzi business.
“Our rate is three percent per month, that’s what we pay.
“The SEC has not invited us or sent us a circular to say that what we are doing is not in line with their regulations before they made the publication,” he said.
NAN
