The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) says it has uncovered 189 fake companies registered by fraudulent lawyers.
Hussaini Magaji, its new Registrar General, disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the companies were registered in collaboration with unscrupulous staff so as to deprive government of revenues.
Magaji alleged that a syndicate of criminals operating in numerous unregistered companies was arrested by the commission and handed over to the police.
“One of the milestones achieved upon my assumption of duty is our ability to bust a ring of criminals that are creating havoc in the commission.
“About 189 fake companies have been identified, used by this group of persons to secure lands.
“We discovered that these non-existing entities collaborate with lawyers who claim to be accredited agents with the commission.
“They also work with staff of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to perfect their nefarious activities.
“They collaborate with some staff of the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS), make applications at the AGIS and take priority over existing applications.
“With collaboration of security agents, we arrested the suspects and they have volunteered information,” he said.