FCCPC says joint committee to shut down money lending businesses in enforcement drive

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FCCPC says joint committee to shut down money lending businesses in enforcement drive

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has said that the joint committee that was set up by the Federal Government to tackle violation of consumer rights and unfair practices in the money lending industry will shut down illegal businesses at the commencement of its enforcement.

The joint committee is made up of representatives from FCCPC, the CBN, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

According to NAN, this disclosure was made by the Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC, Mr Babatunde Irukera, during an interview on Sunday in Abuja, saying that the enforcement would commence soon.

Read: FCCPC is collaborating with CBN, EFCC, ICPC, NHRC to tackle harassment from online lenders – Babatunde Irukera

What the Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC is saying

Irukera said that the committee would also be writing interim regulations which money lending companies must comply with.

He explained, “The joint committee is meeting and agreeing on how to proceed but I can say that two of the entities of the joint committee will be going on the field and doing enforcement work now, very shortly.

“They will be closing down businesses and engaging App stores to shut down certain applications that are infringing and abusive.

`We are also going to be writing interim regulations and some basic information for all these money lenders to provide information so that people will know who they are.

Read: FCCPC shuts down Chinese restaurant for racial discrimination

“Some of them are just Apps that we do not even know who the promoters are. So we are going to provide certain frameworks for them to comply with before doing business.’’

Speaking on the increasing number of consumer complaints about services provided by insurance companies, Irukera said that the commission was progressing in their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

The FCCPC boss said they hope to conclude MoU early next year, as they will have more industry-wide interventions in that space.

He said, “We get a lot more complaints about the insured who have paid their premium and are not been settled and so, we are engaging NAICOM on that.’’

What you should know

Recall that earlier in November 2021, the Federal Government moved to check some of the illegal, unwholesome and unfair practices in the money lending industry with the setting up of a joint committee to address the situation.

The acts was fast becoming a dominant and abusive practice targeting some of the most vulnerable in society.

The committee that received over 500 electronic mails and information in respect of the investigation was expected to through their activities lead efforts to address multiple potentially dubious conducts of certain money lenders, otherwise known as loan sharks.