SEC develops investors’ data, consent form to check identity theft, money laundering

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has developed a standardised investors’ data and consent form to check identity theft and money laundering in the capital market.

Mrs Efe Ebelo, Head, Corporate Communication of SEC, in a statement, said Ms Mary Uduk, the Acting Director-General of the commission unfolded the initiative in Abuja on Wednesday.

Uduk said the form would assist Capital Market Operators (CMOs) to collect and update investors’ data and enable them obtain investors’ consent for implementing capital market initiatives targeted at improving participation.

“We need to identify our investors, we need to know who is putting money in our market and who is not.

“That will also help us to take care of money laundering and other vices and people we do not want in our market.

“That form is out there and we expect every stakeholder to look at it and make comments and other capital market operators so that we can use it to get information from investors.

“That information will be stored in a data base protected under the law and used to ensure that we have unique identifier investors,” she said.

“The acting director-general expressed the commitment of the commission to identify investors properly so as to guard against flow of illicit funds into the capital market.

Uduk however warned that SEC would no longer tolerate investors buying stocks with fake names, terming it as illegal.

She added that many opportunities were still open for such investors to regularise their accounts at no penalty.