The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has announced its plan to strike off a staggering one hundred thousand companies that have neglected to file their annual returns over the past decade.
The Registrar-General of the CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, made this disclosure during a Training Workshop on the Use of the Beneficial Ownership Register (BOR) in Lagos.
GOOD EVENING NIGERIA reports that an Annual return is a mandatory requirement that every business name, company or incorporated trustee in Nigeria must fulfil at least once every year to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in other to keep the commission abreast that, the organisation is still active and in existence.
Abubakar, however, said that the Commission would soon send notices of striking off to the affected companies before embarking on the action as enshrined in section 692 of the CAMA,2020.
He explained that the companies were, however, entitled to be relisted upon payment of their outstanding debts and an order of a court, as provided by the law.
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Abubakar therefore advised companies to ensure timely payment of their annual return to avoid being struck off.
On the BOR, he said it was built by CAC with the support and assistance of the World Bank.
The registrar-general stressed that the register would go a long way in curbing corruption, money laundering, and terrorism financing.
He therefore enjoined stakeholders, especially investigating agencies, legal practitioners, journalists, and civil society organisations, to utilise the BOR in discharging their responsibilities.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law, (NBA-SBL), Dr Adeyeye Adefulu, commended the CAC for recording yet another important milestone in its history.
Adefulu therefore said that the NBA-SBL would sustain its existing cordial relationship with the Commission and charged members to make good use of the knowledge acquired at the training for the benefit of the Nigerian economy.
Also speaking, the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABDCON),Aminu Gwadabe, underscored the importance of the BOR in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.
Gwadabe, advised professionals to apply due diligence while dealing with their clients.
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Also present at the event are representatives from the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).