CAC Urges Banks to Halt Transactions by Inactive Companies

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has cautioned commercial banks against allowing inactive and non-compliant businesses to engage in financial activities. The warning was made as it revealed that it has referred 263 companies, registered illegally, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for scrutiny and potential prosecution.

Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, the Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of the CAC, shared this information during the Commission’s 35th anniversary celebration taking place in Abuja.

Magaji indicated that out of the 263 companies, 248 had been fraudulently incorporated into the CAC's database, while the remaining 15 were subsequently detected and submitted to the EFCC for further inquiry.

He stated that these companies had been operating in Nigeria without identifiable corporate identities and were not contributing to the nation's tax revenue.

"In the past year, we provided the EFCC with a list of 248 fraudulent company registrations that were illegally entered into our database through illicit means," Magaji remarked during his address.

He added, "These entities were falsely representing themselves within the Nigerian business landscape, lacking a verifiable corporate identity and failing to make any contributions to the national revenue.

Additionally, we identified and submitted 15 more such entities for further examination."

The Registrar-General emphasized that these measures are part of the Commission's initiative to enhance its internal systems and show a strong opposition to corruption, despite facing legal obstacles and personal adversities.

Moreover, Magaji disclosed that three CAC staff members had been reported to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) due to their alleged involvement in suspicious and unauthorized transactions relating to company records.

"These steps were taken to mitigate opportunities for misconduct and reinforce integrity within our operations," he noted, stressing that the fight against corruption entails sacrifice and institutional determination.