Nigerian SEC Partners With Police To Tackle Crypto Ponzi Schemes – Details
The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is sustaining an intense give attention to the native cryptocurrency business, as indicated by latest developments. While introducing minimal capital necessities for beforehand unregulated digital asset service suppliers (VASPs), the securities regulator has additionally fashioned an alliance with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) towards cryptocurrency fraud, amongst different unlawful operations.
Nigerian SEC Looks To Improve Crypto Investors’ Protection
According to native media Voice of Nigeria, the SEC is ramping up efforts aimed toward investor safety and clear market operations within the crypto ecosystem. In a latest assembly with the NPF, the Commission’s Director-General (DG), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, communicated to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, issues over malicious actors within the monetary markets who exploit buyers’ belief for private positive aspects.
Dr. Agama stated:
They cloak their deceit within the glamorous however misunderstood language of cryptocurrency and foreign currency trading. They goal the susceptible, the optimistic, and the merely unsuspecting, forsaking a path of shattered lives, depleted pensions, and damaged belief. This is not only a monetary crime; it’s a social menace that erodes public confidence in our whole monetary system.
Currently, there’s a hole, a seam between identification and enforcement that these scammers exploit. Today, we purpose to shut that hole completely.
In explicit, the SEC DG is proposing the formation of a specialised SEC-NPF crew with members who carry understanding of the monetary rules and operations and the tactical intelligence to curb these funding frauds and defend the Nigerian our on-line world. The IGP authorised the collaboration request whereas additionally stating a powerful dedication to assist the SEC obtain its goals.
Crypto Fraud In Nigeria
Notably, Nigerians have been victims of a number of cryptocurrency funding scams prior to now few years. The most distinguished of those is the Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) platform, which crashed in April 2025, dropping over N1.3 trillion ($916 million) in consumer funds.
The Nigerian SEC is strongly dedicated to lowering such menace as proven by the latest collaboration with the NPF alongside different measures reminiscent of a revised minimal capital necessities for VASPs and a published list of all recognized fraudulent crypto and monetary funding companies.
Notably, Nigeria stays one of many fastest-growing crypto hubs globally. According to data from TripleA, roughly 10.34% of Nigeria’s inhabitants, i.e., 22 million folks, maintain one digital asset or the opposite, due to this fact indicating the necessity for an efficient regulatory oversight and safety system.
