Fraudulent Companies: CAC uncovers 189 fake entities defrauding Nigerians
NIGERIA, Oct. 25 – The newly appointed Registrar-General of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Magaji says within his one week after assumption of office he has uncovered 189 fake companies positioned to defraud well-meaning Nigerians.
Magaji who was appointed as the registrar-general of the Commission on Oct. 13 made this known to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja that a syndicate of criminals that specialized in operating several unregistered companies was apprehended by the commission.
“One of the milestone achieved upon my assumption of duty is our ability to burst a ring of criminals that are creating havoc in the commission.
“About 189 fake companies have been identified to be used by these group of persons to secure lands.
“We discovered that these non-existing entities collaborate with lawyers who claim to be accredited agents with the commission.
“They collaborate with some staff of the Abuja Geographical Information System, (AGIS), manage their way to make applications at the AGIS and take priority over existing applications.
“With the collaboration of security agents we arrested the suspects who have volunteered some information,” he said.
He stated tnat the suspect was arrested through complaints from the FCTA requesting the commission to verify some applications made by some firms.
The Registrar said upon findings, the commission discovered that the companies were were never in existence.
“The nature of their crime is that they create a fake entity and apply for land at the FCTA and maneuver their way to have a priority application over an existing application.
“To take over the land and they have succeeded severally in the past.
Magaji then reiterated his determination to discourage others from engaging in such illegal act.
About his plans for the Commission, he said more efforts would be geared towards improving revenue generation by the Commission.
He said upon his assumption to office, he came up with some plans among which is the human capital development.
“I think this is essential to the discharge of the responsibilities of any staff in the commission and we are taking it seriously.
“Followed by the welfare of staff; this is one of the issues we met in the commission that is lingering and creating havoc in the commission.
“So, we have plans to address it as soon as possible; we have set agenda and will discuss it in our next management meeting,” he added.
The CAC Registra-General however enjoined the staff to play their part towards moving the organization forward, stating that the management was making moves to do theirs.
On ease of doing business, Magaji said it was one of the priorities of the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the Commission would work to achieve that.
“That is one of the reasons why we are not talking about reviewing charges. One of the key things we will also do is to further simplify the process of registration,” he said.