The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has encouraged investors to make use of whistleblowing policy to help the commission identify and investigate any form of suspicious transactions occurring in the Capital Market.
This was made known by acting Director-General of SEC, Mary Uduk at a two-day international capital market conference organised in collaboration with the Department of Finance, University of Lagos.
What you should know: The Acting Director-General has expressed displeasure over a private placement bubble that occurred with the approval of market operators who encouraged issuers to take advantage of loopholes in the relevant investment laws at the time.
She also noted that several efforts had been made to make sure issuers listed their shares. She said this process had, however, not been forthcoming as market operators continued to flout the law regarding private placements, knowing fully well that the law does not permit the commission to regulate private companies.
What this means: The whistleblowing policy will help the regulator oversee the market as well as carry out the relevant investigation involved. SEC promised to act on all complaints received.
“Insider trading is what we have to prove. A lot of us are in the market and we have whistleblowing mechanism. It is the operators who will be in a better position to know and report such infractions. For those that have been reported to us, we have been carrying out investigations and once we have evidence we will invite them and also refer them to the relevant authorities.
[READ MORE: SEC to address investment concerns through Complaints Management Framework]
With the whistleblowing provision, we have always asked operators in the market to come to our aid if they find any unwholesome activity going on. It is our market and so we all have to do our bit,” she said.
Uduk also promised to persecute anyone who flouts the laid rules.
[READ FURTHER: SEC moves to implement e-dividend fee in bank charges]
