Court convicts three companies over unlicensed investment operations in Lagos
Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, July 14, 2025, delivered judgment against two companies, FARM360 Limited and MCBHADMOS Trans-Atlantic Trade Limited, after finding them guilty of operating investment schemes without regulatory approval.
The companies were arraigned by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on June 16, 2025, on a five-count charge centered on engaging in collective investment activities without obtaining the necessary authorisation from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, or the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC.
Investigations revealed that between 2021 and 2022, the companies collected over N80 million from various investors under the guise of investment opportunities, but failed to repay the principal sums or deliver the promised returns.
Although the companies initially denied the charges, the EFCC proceeded to present evidence, including a detailed case review by Nnadikwu Izuchukwu Collins, one of its investigators.
Collins disclosed that the Commission received a petition in October 2022 from a group of investors who had been lured by the companies’ promises of high returns through agriculture-based ventures and forex trading.
According to him, further investigations showed that FARM360 and MCBHADMOS were never registered or licensed by the relevant regulatory bodies to carry out such financial operations.
Responses from the CBN and SEC confirmed the companies’ lack of authorisation, while bank statements from Fidelity Bank indicated that investor funds, amounting to N80 million, were diverted for personal use. The directors of both companies remain at large, with ongoing efforts by authorities to trace their whereabouts.
The prosecution presented key documents in court, including the petition from the aggrieved investors, correspondence with financial regulators, and bank statements. All were admitted into evidence by the court.
Justice Dipeolu subsequently found the companies guilty on all five counts and imposed a fine of N5 million for each count, totaling N25 million.
In a separate but related case, the same court also convicted another firm, Quintessential Investment Company Limited, for similarly operating an unlicensed collective investment scheme.
The company had been arraigned by the EFCC on a two-count charge related to illegal capital market dealings without the approval of the CBN.
Court convicts three companies over unlicensed investment operations in Lagos
