Savings and investment platform Crowdyvest has been issued a Cease and Desist Order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its proposed launch of a Halal Fund.
The commission, in a statement, described Crowdyvest as an “unregistered entity”, while ordering a stop to the proposed launch.
It urged the public to confirm the identities of platforms offering investment opportunities with the commission before engaging in any such investment.
The statement read, “The attention of the Commission was drawn to the proposed launch of a Crowdyvest Halal Fund by Crowdyvest an unregistered entity purporting to operate as a corporative society.
“The Commission has since issued a Cease and Desist Order to Crowdyvest to stop the launch and operations of the Crowdyvest Halal Fund and any other investment activity which involves soliciting investments and deposits from the public.
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“The general public is hereby put on notice and reminded to confirm and verify the registration status of entities offering investment product with the Commission and entities offering savings products with the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Crowdyvest’s Response
In response to the cease and desist order, Crowdyvest stated that it operated outside the “purview of SEC” but that it was a “credible organisation” and had put on hold its plan to launch the Halal Fund product following a prior cease and desist order.
It stated that it had “assumed that it was a call to the general public for investment.”
“To all our members, please be rest assured that we are in discussions with the SEC to clarify our position and will continue to operate within the ambit of the law. All members’ funds are safe and are being utilized as agreed with members and in line with our bye-laws.
“We also promise to carry all our members along should there be any new development with regards to any of our products,” it added.
