The SEC's list of known investment schemes

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria publishes a list of entities it calls known investment schemes. The Commission says these entities are not registered to take investments. The list is a public warning, not a court finding. This page explains what the list is, what each column in the table above shows, and what a reader should do with it.

Schemes named in SEC notices

The entity's name as the SEC wrote it and the SEC's date where given.

What the table above shows

The table above this text is a live view of the SEC's list. Each row is one notice the regulator published. The columns show the name exactly as the source wrote it, the date the source published it, the type of scheme if the SEC states it, and a link to the original notice. The table is the regulator's act, not this site's verdict.

A row records what the source published. It does not mean this site has investigated the entity, or that any court has found the entity at fault. The table is a copy of a public document. The reader should open the link and read the SEC's own words.

What 'known investment schemes' means as a document

The SEC uses the phrase 'known investment schemes' for entities it names. The document is the Commission saying these entities are not registered to take investments. It is a warning to the public. It does not say that the entity is a scam, a fraud, or a pyramid. It says only that the entity is not registered with the SEC.

The document is not a complete list of every unregistered scheme. The SEC may name some and not others. A name absent from the list is not evidence that the entity is registered or safe. The list is one regulator's answer to one question: is this entity registered with us?

How to read a date on the list

Where the SEC gives a date for a notice, that date is shown in the table. The date is the regulator's own: it may be the date of the notice, the date of publication, or the date of the last update. The site does not alter it. The reader should check the original notice to see what the date refers to.

Where the SEC does not give a date, the site shows the date it first saw the entry and says so. That date is not a claim about when the SEC acted. It is a record of when this site observed the entry. The SEC's page may change between our weekly reads.

What the list does not say

The list does not say whether an entity is registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission. It does not say whether the entity is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. It does not say whether the entity is a lawful direct-selling business. Each of those questions belongs to a different body.

The list is about investment schemes. It is not about general business registration or consumer protection. A reader who wants to know whether a company is registered at the CAC should ask the CAC. A reader who wants to know whether a company is licensed by the SEC should ask the SEC.

What to do with a name on the list

If you see a name you recognise on the list, read the SEC's notice. The notice will say what the Commission believes and what it advises the public to do. The reader should not rely on this site's summary; the original is the authority.

If you have already placed money with an entity on the list, the SEC's notice may tell you who to contact. It may also be worth asking your bank about the transfer you made. No body can promise a refund.

What to do with a name not on the list

A name absent from the list is not shown to be registered, licensed or safe. The SEC may not have named it yet. The scheme may be unregistered and yet not named. A reader who is considering an investment should ask the SEC directly whether the entity is registered.

The SEC's website has a search function for registered capital-market operators. You can also write to the Commission. Do not rely on this site alone. This site reports the SEC's notices; it does not certify any entity.

A notice can arrive long after money has moved

The SEC publishes a notice when it has enough material to act. By that date, an entity may have already collected funds from many people. The gap between the first invitation to invest and the published notice is not fixed. It depends on when the SEC receives complaints, completes its review, and approves the language of the warning.

A reader who sees a fresh notice should not assume the scheme started that week. The table shows the date of the SEC's announcement, not the date the entity began operating. Some schemes run for months before a notice appears. Others are flagged quickly if they resemble an earlier case or if the SEC receives a cluster of complaints in a short period.

This timing matters when a person asks whether they can recover money. The earlier a name appears on the list, the sooner the public can stop paying in. But the list is not a recovery tool. It only tells you the SEC has published a notice. Any money already sent remains a matter between the payer, the entity, and the courts.

The list is not a substitute for a licence check

A name on the list means the SEC has said the entity is not registered to take investments. It does not mean the entity is banned from every other activity in Nigeria. Some entities on the list hold a valid CAC certificate for a different line of business, such as trading or consulting. That certificate does not authorise them to collect money for a return.

Before committing money, a reader should check the SEC's register of capital market operators. That register is separate from the list of known investment schemes. The list is a warning, while the register is a positive confirmation. An entity that appears on neither still requires a licence if it is inviting the public to invest.

The order of operations is simple: first check the SEC register for a licence, then check the list for a warning. If the entity is on the list, stop. If it is not on the list but also not on the register, do not proceed. Only a licence from the SEC, or another regulator with authority over that type of investment, makes an invitation lawful.

A CAC certificate does not bless an investment scheme

The Corporate Affairs Commission registers companies for legal existence. It does not assess whether a business model is lawful or whether it can collect money from the public. Many entities on the SEC's list have a CAC certificate. The certificate only means the company exists as a legal person and can open a bank account, sue, and be sued.

The SEC's warning does not cancel a CAC certificate. The two registries serve different purposes. A reader who sees a CAC certificate and assumes the investment is safe has confused company registration with market regulation. The SEC is the body that checks whether an entity can offer investments, not the CAC.

This confusion is common because promoters show a CAC certificate as proof of legitimacy. The certificate is real, but it is not a licence to take deposits or promise returns. When an entity on the list shows a CAC certificate, the correct response is to note that the certificate does not remove the SEC's warning.

The list grows when complaints become public

The SEC does not have a fixed schedule for adding names. A new notice often follows a pattern of complaints from investors who cannot withdraw their money or who see their promised returns stop. The SEC may also act on its own surveillance or on a referral from another regulator, such as the Central Bank or the EFCC.

Once the SEC is satisfied that an entity is operating without registration, it drafts a notice and publishes it on its website and in selected media. The date on the table is the date of publication. The list is cumulative, so older notices remain visible even after the entity changes its name or shuts down.

A reader who has been invited to invest in something not on the list should not assume it is safe. The absence of a notice may simply mean the SEC has not yet published one. The list is a record of what the SEC has said so far, not a complete map of every unlawful scheme in Nigeria.

A name change does not erase a notice

Some entities on the list later rebrand or register a new company name. The SEC's notice refers to the name it used at the time of publication. If the same people behind a scheme start a new platform under a different name, the old notice remains on the list, but the new name may not appear until the SEC publishes a fresh notice.

A reader who encounters a new name that resembles an old one on the list should check the SEC's website for any updated notice. The SEC sometimes publishes a follow-up notice linking the new name to the old one. When it does, the table will show the new name with its own date, but the original notice stays.

The practical lesson is that a name not on the list is not proof of a clean record. It may be a new name for an old scheme. The only way to be sure is to check the SEC register for a licence and to ask the promoter for the certificate of registration as a capital market operator.

The SEC's notice is a statement, not a verdict

When the SEC publishes a name on its list, it is saying that the entity is not registered with the SEC to carry out investment business. It is not a court judgment. The SEC does not have the power to declare an entity a scam or to order it to pay back money. That power belongs to the courts, the EFCC, or other law enforcement agencies.

A reader who sees a name on the list should treat it as a warning to stop any further payment. The SEC's notice is the regulator's official position, and it carries weight. But the notice alone does not resolve any dispute about money already paid. A person who has lost money must pursue a separate civil or criminal case.

The list's value is in its timeliness and its authority. It tells the public what the SEC has found and when it found it. It does not promise that the entity will be shut down or that investors will recover their money. The reader decides what to do with the information.