Customers in limbo after shut down of ‘illegal’ capital market

Following the closure of a Kano-based Dantata Success and Profitable Company by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 6, 2019, many investors have been plunged into confusion and financial uncertainty. This is as a result of their huge investments in the company, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered. The Dantata Success and Profitable Company […]

Following the closure of a Kano-based Dantata Success and Profitable Company by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 6, 2019, many investors have been plunged into confusion and financial uncertainty. This is as a result of their huge investments in the company, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered. The Dantata Success and Profitable Company is an initiative of Hajiya Basira Dantata. She started the company as a family business where interested members invested their shares for business purposes.

The main function of the company is to solicit funds from investors and entice them with good monthly interest for investments, depending on the amount one contributed.

An insider in the company told Daily Trust on Sunday that it had been into so many businesses, using investors’ money. According to him, the company has ventured into transportation, petroleum, as well as hides and skin businesses.

“The company has over 50 trailers that have been transporting goods from Kano to Lagos and some parts of the South. It has over 100 commercial vehicles that have been plying the Kano-Abuja road. It also owns many tricycles in Kano. It is equally operating four filling stations,’’ he said.

He further disclosed that the mode of payment of returns and commission to investors was categorised into monthly and yearly, depending on what the investor wants. For instance, if a man invested his money for a six-month plan and chooses to receive his commission monthly, he will be given a commission monthly for a period of six months. But if he chooses a one-year plan, he will be given a commission yearly for the period of six years.

However, it was learnt that, having run the business for some time with limited investors, Hajiya Basira decided to expand the business to incorporate other investors outside the family, with a minimum deposit of N50,000 and maximum of N10 million respectively.

This arrangement attracted so many investors to the company across Kano State, Daily Trust on Sunday gathered.

Majority of them, it was learnt, fell in the category of N50, 000 and N100, 000.

But eight months after the expansion, operatives of the SEC stormed the premises of the company and shut it down over what they called illegal capital market activities.

The SEC said, “the Company solicits funds from people by enticing them with returns of monthly interest of between 25 per cent to 50 per cent. They also indicated a registration period of February 5 to 15 in one of their numerous notices, directing all prospective customers to make deposits into their bank accounts.

“The company sells its forms to prospective investors according to their investment plans, ranging from N1, 000 to N3, 000. The minimum amount investable is N50, 000 while the maximum is N5, 000,000.

“The investment period of the scheme is pegged at a minimum of 30 working days to a maximum period of 12 months with offer of interest rates on short and medium term basis.”

The shutdown has thrown the investors into confusion on account of the fate of their money.

An investor in the company, Malam Bello Mudi, told Daily Trust on Sunday that he invested N400,000 for a six-month plan and expected to start receiving alerts for returns when the SEC suddenly shut down the company.

“I joined the business in good faith; and from my experience, the owner of the business has good plan for investors. I invested N400, 000 for the six-month plan and I am expecting to receive N160, 000 monthly as my return. If the business goes smoothly, I will be given N160, 000 every month for the period of six months; that’s N960, 000.

“If I chose the one year plan, I would be given N160, 000 yearly for a period of six years. Those in the N50, 000 category will be given N12, 000 monthly as return. So, you see, it is a good plan to help people, especially those that do not have time to conduct business by themselves.

“There are people among us who invested millions of naira into the business. It may interest you to know that some investors had started benefiting from the business before the SEC shut down the company over noncompliance with guidelines of operating such a business,’’ he said.

Another investor, who identified himself as Muhammad Y, expressed disappointment with the management of the company.

He lamented, “I was deceived by my friend to invest in the company. If I knew that the company had not registered with the appropriate agencies such as SEC, I wouldn’t have invested my money there.

“Now, how can I recover my money? I am just praying that things would be formalised between the company and the SEC. I can assure you that the moment this is done, I will simply withdraw my money since I have not started receiving any return”.

When our correspondent visited the company’s head office along Aminu Kano Road, many investors were seen trying to make enquiries on the fate of their investment, but they couldn’t do so as no official of the company was present.

An investor, Malam Muhammed Dandawaki, said he got to know about the activities of the company through a daily advertisement on local radio stations in the state. He said he had heard testimonies from friends on the legality and reality of the investment processes, adding that, that was what led him to commit a huge sum of money in his name, his children and his two wives.

“I am very worried about the closure of the company. To be honest with you, many of us committed huge savings to it because we had a strong belief that the activities of the company were genuine. They have been all over radio stations in Kano. If they were fake, I believe someone somewhere would have raised the alarm. Anyway, we want to appeal to the SEC to consider our plight and reopen the company,” Dandawaki pleaded.

Another investor, Umar Isa Sanimainagge, said he had enjoyed his return for three months, lamenting that the sealing of the company had stopped him from accessing February’s dividend. He said it would be a very wise idea if the SEC would rescind its decision as the management of the company had since communicated to some of its investors, that they had fulfilled the needed requirements.

When contacted on phone, the Administration Officer of the company, Hajiya Rabi Abdullahi, said arrangements have been concluded for the formal registration of the company.

She said, “Hajiya Basira has informed us that the management of the company met with SEC officials and the meeting was successful. What remains now is formalisation of the registration.”

Hajiya Rabi appealed to investors not to panic over the development, assuring that their funds were safe and things would soon be formalised and the company would reopen.