By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Managing Director of Famzhi Interbiz Limited, Ms Mariam Suleiman, has been convicted and ordered to spend five years in jail by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The capital market operator has also been blacklisted from the landscape by the sector’s regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Ms Suleiman was found guilty of fraudulently using about N2 billion belonging to investors for suppose different from what she collected the money for from her victims.
SEC, which brought her matter to the court, alleged that between 2017 and 2019, she connived with her employee to collect funds from unsuspecting members of the public for an unregistered investment programme.
She was said to have, through her organisation, received money from over 2,000 investors to invest in farming, poultry and water business without getting an authorisation from the SEC.
Her company later approached the regulatory agency for approval after collecting funds from members of the public, which the judge frowned at.
Justice Ekwo held that, “The commencement of the business without the requisite license offends the provisions of ISA, 2017.
“Ignorance of the law is not a defence and the court is urged to take a critical look at the exhibits tendered which are sufficient to ground a conviction,” ordering the winding up of the company.
The judge also ordered that all its assets be sold, with the proceeds from the sale used to compensate the victims of the crime.