The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a public warning against Property World Africa Network (PWAN) and its affiliated platform, PWAN MAX, labelling the company’s investment scheme as unlawful and potentially deceptive.
According to a statement from the Commission, PWAN and PWAN MAX are not registered with the SEC, thus lacking the legal authority to solicit funds from the public or to operate within the Nigerian capital market.
The SEC indicated that its action was prompted by complaints and intelligence reports concerning PWAN’s investment offerings, which reportedly promise excessively high returns and have not honoured withdrawal requests from investors.
These characteristics, the Commission noted, are indicative of Ponzi schemes, which depend on a continuous influx of new investors to provide returns to earlier participants. The Commission cautioned that any individual investing in PWAN or PWAN MAX does so at their own peril, stressing that the company’s operations exhibit numerous warning signs typically associated with fraudulent investment schemes.
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Furthermore, the SEC advised the public to verify the registration status of any investment platform prior to committing funds. Investors can check whether a company is licensed or registered through the Commission’s online portal at www.sec.gov.ng/cmos.
This warning from the SEC follows the collapse of another Ponzi scheme known as CBEX, which reportedly resulted in Nigerians losing nearly N1.2 trillion. Approximately 600,000 Nigerians are said to have invested in the scheme and lost their funds after its failure on April 14, 2025.
The SEC had declared the platform illegal, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission confirmed that an investigation into the firm’s operations is ongoing.
Additionally, with the recent enactment of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA 2025) signed by President Bola Tinubu, the SEC stated that it is now authorised to prosecute promoters of Ponzi schemes throughout the nation.
