Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a public warning against Property World Africa Network (PWAN) and its associated platform, PWAN MAX, describing the company’s investment solicitation activities as illegal and potentially fraudulent.
According to a statement released by the Commission, PWAN and PWAN MAX are not registered with the SEC and therefore lack the legal authority to collect funds from the public or operate in any capacity within the Nigerian capital market.
“The Commission hereby informs the public that PWAN/PWAN MAX are NOT REGISTERED by the Commission either to solicit investments from the public or operate in any other capacity within the Nigerian capital market,” the statement read.
Intelligence report
The SEC said it was prompted to act following complaints and intelligence reports regarding PWAN’s investment offerings, which allegedly promise unusually high returns and have failed to honour withdrawal requests from subscribers.
These, the Commission noted, are hallmarks of Ponzi-style schemes, which rely on continuous inflows from new investors to sustain payouts to earlier ones.
The Commission warned that anyone who invests in PWAN or PWAN MAX does so at their own risk, emphasizing that the operations of the company raise multiple red flags typically associated with fraudulent investment schemes.
“Investigations have revealed that PWAN’s operations exhibit the typical indicators of a fraudulent Ponzi scheme,” SEC said.
The SEC further advised members of the public to verify the registration status of any investment platform before committing funds. Investors can confirm whether a firm is licensed or registered via the Commission’s online portal at www.sec.gov.ng/cmos.
What you should know
The SEC warning follows the crash of another Ponzi scheme called CBEX, where Nigerians were reported to have lost close to N1.2 trillion to the platform.
- No fewer than 600,000 Nigerians reportedly invested in the scheme and lost their money after it collapsed on April 14, 2025.
- The SEC had declared the platform illegal, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission confirmed an ongoing investigation into the firm’s operations.
- CBEX, a digital investment platform, promised investors 100% profit after 30 days of purported AI trading.
- The trading platform started operations in 2024 after receiving registration approval from the Corporate Affairs Commission on September 25, 2024, and the EFCC’s Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering on January 16, 2025.
Meanwhile, with the coming into force of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA 2025) recently signed by President Bola Tinubu, the SEC said it is now empowered to prosecute promoters of Ponzi schemes across the country.
According to the Director General of SEC, Emomotimi Agama, with the new law, operators of Ponzi schemes in Nigeria now face a 10-year jail term and a N40 million penalty if caught.
