The Securities and Exchange Commission has said that it will deploy the full weight of the law against individuals and entities that engage in activities that are contrary to laid down regulations in the capital market.
The Director-General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama who stated this in an interview in Abuja weekend, said the Commission is committed to protecting investors, including those in the crypto space, and therefore enjoined participants in the market to play by the rules.
According to Agama, “We are certainly going to commence enforcement actions on anyone who wants to operate in this market and does not have the intention of being regulated. This also applies to those in the crypto space. We are sending this signal to all those that want to play by the books that they are welcome to our space. But for those that do not want to play by the books, of course we definitely will not allow them operate within our space”.
The DG disclosed that the Commission decided to take the recent step of issuing Approval-in-Principle to two crypto exchanges because it observed that Nigerian youths were becoming increasingly interested in the digital space and so it was important to provide regulation, clarity and the protection of investors which is its primary responsibility.
“All this we seek to do without hindering innovation because part of our primary responsibility as the SEC is market development and we are aware that Mr. President is very interested in youths and the activities of youths. Clearly, the majority of persons involved in this space are the youths. Therefore, it is no gainsaying that providing a regulated space for these individuals is a primary responsibility of the SEC. So, we had to provide a guide, clarity and the knowledge it requires to put all of these things in place and that is why we have done what we did.
“It is important to understand that being the apex regulator of the capital market, we follow international guidelines and one of which is about disclosure. Full disclosure and making sure that they meet the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism reports and making sure that disclosures are made to investors and also education is important as well as a guided regulatory space” he stated.
The SEC Boss said the Commission is taking various steps to ensure that the Nigerian population is safeguarded from any attempt to misinform them and fleece them of their hard earned resources, adding that the activities of crypto exchanges must be watched closely so that they do not impede the national economy.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that whoever is operating in our environment must follow the rules and must not do anything that will cause harm to our economy. It is imperative that we bring clarity and understanding to the entire system and ensure everybody works by the books as provided” he stated.
He disclosed that Securities regulation is a knowledge based phenomenon, saying that one of the things the SEC is doing is to ensure it provides the best of education to its staff that are going to be busy doing the job.