Financial schemes and misappropriation of funds by former council
members of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was responsible for the
near collapse of the capital market.
According to the director-general of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh, the former council members carried out
fraudulent transactions which includes the purchase of N186 million
worth of wristwatches without proper accounts and a yacht for N39
million.
This was part of the revelations of the Director General of the
Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arunma Oteh on Monday at the
resumed hearing of the House of Representative ad-hoc committee probing
the near collapse of the capital market.
Speaking about the NSE, she said “it was brought to my attention that
there were incidences of financial scheming, misappropriation, false
accounting, misrepresentations, and questionable transactions”.
“For instance, the council of the Nigeria stock Exchange bought a
yacht for N37 million and wrote down the book value within one year by
recognising it in its books as a gift presented during its 2008 long
service award” she alleged.
“Yet there are no record of the beneficiary,” she added.
Dr Oteh also alleged that the council of the stock exchange also
spent N186 million on the purchase of 165 Rolex wrist watches, as gift
for awardees out of which only 73 were actually presented to the
awardees. “The outstanding 92 Rolex watches valued at N99.5 million
remained unaccounted for.”
“These were the kind of financial imprudence that were perpetrated at the Nigerian stock exchange,” Ms Oteh said.
The SEC Boss accused the NSE of “weaknesses in corporate governance,
weaknesses in risk management, weaknesses in internal control,
insufficient oversight of brokerage firms and listed companies and
inabilities to enforce rules.”
She noted that the inspection team that examined the NSE found out
that “more than 2,700 investors complaint lodged with the Nigeria Stock
Exchange had yet to be treated.”
-Channels news
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