SEC hammers BGL, suspends Okumagba from capital market

SEC hammers BGL, suspends Okumagba from capital market

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has
suspended BGL Asset Management Ltd, BGL Capital
Ltd and BGL Securities Ltd from all capital market
activities.

This is contained in a statement in Lagos on
Wednesday by the Commission.

SEC directed that Mr Albert Okumagba, the Group
Managing Director, BGL Group, should cease to be a
registered sponsored individual with the
commission.

This directive, according to the statement follows the
withdrawal of the registration of BGL Plc as a capital
market operator.

The statement disclosed that all suspicious
transactions observed in the course of the
investigation had been referred to the appropriate
law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

It stated that BGL Asset Management, BGL Capital
and BGL Securities and all individuals involved in
the management of the said companies had been
referred to the SEC Administrative Proceedings
Committee (APC).

The statement said that the suspension was a fall out
of the commission’s Executive Management
Committee meeting held on May 19.

It said that the committee considered the report of a
detailed investigation into the various complaints
received from investors against subsidiaries of BGL
Group.

According to the statement, the committee directs
BGL Asset Management Ltd, BGL Capital Ltd and
BGL Securities Ltd to be suspended from all capital
market activities.

“All sponsored individuals of BGL Asset Management
, BGL Capital and BGL Securities whose particulars
are contained in the commission’s record as at
December 2014 be suspended from performing any
capital market activity.”

Okumagba prior to the investigation was the
President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS)
but was asked to step aside by the institute because
of investors’ confidence.

Mr Mounir Gwarzo, SEC Director-General, in April
said that the commission was investigating the
operations of BGL Plc, a financial services company.

Gwarzo said that the commission had set up an
interim management team to investigate the
company’s operations.

“What we did for BGL was basically extending our
investigation process.

“We undertook target inspection of BGL, when we
finished the investigation, we came up with our
own report and we wrote them a letter and we said
we wanted them to clarify.

“They responded by asking us for additional time to
respond and we granted them that additional time
and they responded.

“We reviewed their response and we felt there is a
need for us to go in and confirm or clarify certain
things. That is the situation we are in now,” Gwarzo
said.

He said that the findings of the interim management
team would determine its next line of action.

“We set up an interim management team that has
already moved in and is doing its job and I don’t
want to pre-empt what they will come up with.

But the moment they finish the report, SEC will look
at it and take the next line of action,” Gwarzo said.

The interim management team set up for BGL by SEC
was headed by Mr Oladipo Aina, with Mr Abubakar
Ambursa, Mrs Hafsat Rufai, Ms Temitayo Siyanbola
and Ms Tonne Ladipo-Ajayi as members.