COURT FINES 21 FIRMS N30M EACH OVER UNLICENSED INVESTMENT OPERATIONS

The Federal High Court in Lafia, Nasarawa State, has convicted and fined 21 companies N30m each for operating specialised financial businesses without valid licences from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Justice Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa also ordered each company to pay an additional N200,000 for every day it continued operating in breach of the law.

The companies were prosecuted by the Abuja Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission following intelligence linking them to alleged investment fraud and the operation of financial businesses without the required regulatory approval.

The companies were separately arraigned by the EFCC on September 15 and 16, 2026, on one-count charges relating to the illegal operation of specialised financial businesses.

The offences were said to contravene Section 57(1) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, which provides penalties for operating specialised financial businesses without the required licence.

Among the companies named in the cases were Qnet Nigeria Limited, Qnet Professional Skill Academy Limited, Norland Global, Creative Agriculture Cooperative, Mastermind Energy & Agro Nigeria Limited and Omega Pro Global Resources.

Representatives of the companies were reportedly absent when the charges were read in court.

The court’s ruling followed the EFCC’s prosecution of the companies over their alleged unlicensed investment and financial activities.