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Tag: Ponzi Scheme

  • Punisher Coin resembles a Ponzi scheme – SEC warns

    Punisher Coin resembles a Ponzi scheme – SEC warns

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cautioned Nigerians against investing in a cryptocurrency called Punisher Coin, also known by the symbol $PUN.

    In a statement issued Sunday in Lagos, SEC said the presale was unauthorised and lacked regulatory approval, resembling a Ponzi scheme.

    According to the statement, the promoters of $PUN are not registered to operate in any capacity within Nigeria’s capital market.

    The Commission said: “Our attention has been drawn to online promotions of an unauthorised presale for a cryptocurrency called PUNISHER COIN, also known as $PUN.

    “Of particular concern is an article by Daily Trust E-Paper titled: ‘Cryptos to Buy: Why Punisher Coin Could Join Avalanche and Chainlink.’”

    SEC clarified that Punisher Coin and its promoters are neither registered nor approved to promote, launch, trade, or solicit investment from the Nigerian public.

    Preliminary investigations indicate Punisher Coin is a ‘meme coin’ — a type of digital asset often lacking tangible utility or a supporting project.

    Further findings confirm $PUN is indeed a meme coin, typically without real-world value, purpose, or technical foundation backing its existence.

    The value of such coins is usually driven by hype, social media trends, or promotional efforts by its creators and community.

    This makes them vulnerable to ‘pump and dump’ schemes — fraudulent tactics used to inflate and then crash a coin’s market price.

    In such schemes, promoters spread false hype, creating buying pressure, then sell off their holdings at the peak, leaving others with losses.

    After the promoters sell and stop hyping, the coin’s value usually plummets, causing unsuspecting investors to lose money rapidly.

    SEC noted these coins’ value is largely based on manipulation, not substance, with price swings driven by excitement and misleading claims.

    The public is therefore strongly warned against participating in the presale of Punisher Coin, as any investment is entirely at one’s own risk.

    The Commission urges investors to verify the legitimacy of any digital asset, its promoters, and platforms before committing funds.

    Verification can be done via SEC’s official portal:
    https://home.sec.gov.ng/fintech-and-innovation-hub-finport/registered-fintech-operators.

  • SEC raises alarm over new Ponzi scheme

    SEC raises alarm over new Ponzi scheme

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against investing in unregistered investment schemes, including Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited.

    In a circular issued by the Commission in Abuja on Wednesday,  SEC said the scheme was not registered to operate in any capacity in the country’s capital market.

    The Commission said its attention had been drawn to the activities of these entities, which falsely present themselves as investment advisers and fund managers.

    “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited which holds itself out as an Investment Adviser/Fund Manager.

    “The Commission hereby informs the public that Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited is not registered to operate in any capacity in the Nigerian Capital Market.

    The SEC advised the public to refrain from engaging with Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited or its representatives in respect to any business in the capital market.

    “The Commission uses this medium to reiterate that transacting in the Nigerian Capital Market with unregistered and unregulated entities exposes investors to financial risk including fraud and potential loss of investment.

    ”The investing public is therefore reminded to verify the status of companies and entities offering investment opportunities on the Commission’s dedicated portal  www.sec.gov.ng/cmos, before transacting with them,” SEC said.

    The Director-General of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama had recently warned that the Commission would not hesitate to shut down the operations of any unregistered entity.

    Agama had also said that the promoters would be made to face the full weight of the law.

    ”We will shut down their operations and the promoters will be made to face the full weight of the law,” he said.

  • Ponzi Scheme: Netizens react as MMM resurfaces, rebrands

    Ponzi Scheme: Netizens react as MMM resurfaces, rebrands

    The social media is awashed with news of the return of MMM, a Ponzi scheme that existed for years before it was shut down.

    MMM also known as Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox generated a lot of controversy on social media when some parsons who invested in it discovered they had been swindled.

    It came into existence in 2011 but crashed in December 2016. However, in 2017, MMM announced its return but failed to launch the operation.

    Apart from operating in Nigeria, the Ponzi scheme also operated in Kenya, Zimbabwe and many other countries of the world.

    On March 26, 2018, the founder of the scheme, Mavrodi, who was also an ex-convict, died of a heart attack and this led to the shutdown of the scheme in April 2018.

    However, on December 4, 2023, and also in the early hours of today (Tuesday) social media went into uproar on the alleged return of the scheme. On the X (formerly Twitter) platform, ‘MMM is back’ became a trending topic.

    It was reported that MMM has been renamed as MMMkrypto with claims that the sponsors are determined to ensure that the scheme “accomplishes its mission.”

    This was seven years after the initial scheme had crashed in December 2016.

    In a viral image posted online, the said rebranded scheme allows users to “earn up to 36 per cent referral bonus,” amongst other tempting benefits.

    Reacting, an X user and author, Osinakachi Kalu, with the handle @OsinakachiAkuma, shared he and other persons had spoken and debated other similar Ponzi Schemes invoked at that moment.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria CBN has consistently warned Nigerians to desist from getting involved in any Ponzi scheme, saying that  it’s the handiwork of swindlers.

  • Ponzi schemes, cancer to capital market – SEC

    Ponzi schemes, cancer to capital market – SEC

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has described ponzi scheme as “cancer” bedeviling effective operations of the capital market.

    The Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, said this at a post Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting press conference in Abuja on Friday.

    Yuguda said the commission had been fighting a serious war against Ponzi schemes where people without licenses extort money from unsuspected victims.

    He said that the Commission had been working with other agencies to reduce access of ponzi schemes to advertising platforms.

    ”We have been saying that people should only deal with registered operators that have the registration of the Commission.

    ”You must confirm that an operator is licensed with the Commission before you patronise them.

    ”We have done a lot of sensitisation to discourage people from patronising ponzi schemes but unfortunately, a lot of people still patronise them.

    ”We have cases reported to us and our enforcement and police unit have been working on many of these cases trying to resolve issues of investment that have been lost.

    ”It is not really difficult to recognise a ponzi scheme. When a return is too good to be true, desist from it,” he said.

    He said that the Commission was collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to fight money laundering and ponzi schemes.

    Yuguda said the Commission would continue to enlighten the public to desist from patronising ponzi schemes.

    The director-general said that the 2021-2025 revised Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP) would be launched at the next CMC meeting in November.

    He said the revised CMMP would help the market to meet up with current and relevant trends.

  • Ponzi scheme: NDIC warns Nigerians to beware of fraudulent financial institutions

    Ponzi scheme: NDIC warns Nigerians to beware of fraudulent financial institutions

    The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), has advised Nigerians to beware of Ponzi schemes operating under the guise of financial institutions.

    Mr Chima Onyechere, the Zonal Controller of NDIC, Ilorin Zone, who gave the advice on Wednesday in an interview with newsmen said such financial institutions were fraudulent.

    Onyechere said the corporation had intensified awareness campaign across the nation warning people against scammers operating ponzi schemes.

    “There are a lot of ponzi schemers across the country, especially in local places. People in these places may not be aware of their scheme because they entice people with high interest rate.

    “They trick people into putting money in their fraudulent financial institutions and people are not aware that they are illegal.

    “That is why NDIC is passing a message to everyone on the need to look out for financial institutions that have the corporation’s certification to operate.

    “Whenever Nigerians come across these financial institutions without NDIC certification, they should ask questions and find out if they are insured under NDIC before doing any business with them,’’ he said.

    According to Onyechere, NDIC stickers are placed on financial institutions such as banks that are insured by the corporation and certified safe to do business.

  • Chinmark Ponzi scheme: Female Investor commits suicide after losing millions of naira

    Chinmark Ponzi scheme: Female Investor commits suicide after losing millions of naira

    An investor with the crashed Ponzi scheme Chinmark known as Mrs Nuella has committed suicide after lapsing into depression due to millions of naira invested in the scheme.

    It was gathered that many people who had invested millions of Naira in the scheme already threatened suicide when the CEO of the project Chinedu Ijeomah disappeared after the ponzi scheme had crashed.

    Findings have shown that Mrs Nuella had invested millions of Naira without the consent of her hubby hoping to make double of her returns when the project crashed already hinted on committing suicide.

    She was, however, later rescued and taken to the hospital, with Mr. Charles Awuzie, with a verified Facebook account posting her account details and soliciting assistance for her.

    Mrs Nuella finally gave up the ghost after spending days at the hospital trying to recuperate.

    A close friend, Awuzie of the deceased on Monday night wrote a farewell note on her facebook page.

    Awuzie wrote: “Nuella – the lady who invested her family’s money with you and attempted suicide last month because of you..

    ”Well, she couldn’t handle the disappointment and she left the world today.

    ”I did my best to avoid a possible Chinmark bloodshed…

    ”I was called names, defamed and dragged for trying to stop bloodshed… The court and the blood of those I tried to save will vindicate me at the right time.

    ”As I type this, there are more women in my inbox telling me that they may not make it…

    ”You have drank the blood of the poor.

    ‘Dear Red king, you have been stained with red blood. Is this a coincidence?

    ”My heart is broken….

    ”But this is the end of Ponzi schemes in Nigeria.

    ”At this point, we will activate every tool available to us to bring those who killed Nuella to justice.

    ”I didn’t know much about her until I learnt about her attempted suicide… She was so selfless that she wanted to give my gift to her to Chinmark victims who are in more need. It was because of her that I squeezed out more funds to support pregnant victims. No woman has challenged my conscience like Nuella did in the few moments I engaged with her.

    ”Chinmark, you have caused an irredeemable loss.

    ””But this is the end of Ponzi schemes in Nigeria.

    At this point, we will activate every tool available to us to bring those who killed Nuella to justice.

    ”Hashtag – #Justice4Nuella #ShutdownPonzi #ShutdownRedKillers

    ”Rest in Peace Nuella. There will be no peace for those who killed you.” He wrote

    Many investors of the Ponzi scheme have flooded the Enugu office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) to make complains about the crashed scheme.

    As at the time of filing this report EFCC is yet to comment or take any action on arresting the CEO of the project Chinedu Ijeoma who is not at large.

    Recall that a major ponzi scheme known as MMM in operations about 5 years ago also crashed leaving so many investors biting their fingers after losing investments worth millions of Naira.

     

  • Comedian Bovi blames Simon Leviev after ‘embarrassing’ London hotel encounter

    Comedian Bovi blames Simon Leviev after ‘embarrassing’ London hotel encounter

    Nigerian stand-up comedian, Bovi Ugboma, popularly known only as Bovi has blamed Simon Leviev for an otherwise embarrassing encounter he had in a London hotel.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Bovi as saying he checked into the hotel in London but the hotel staff insisted he presented the card used for booking the hotel.

    He blamed Leviev, an Israeli conman convicted of theft, forgery and fraud for the double-check carried out on him by the hotel.

    Bovi revealed that he was forced to ask the hotel staff to Google him in the altercation that ensued.

    “Simon Leviev done spoil everywhere o. Tryna check into hotel in London and they insist I present the card that was used for the booking.

    “I tell them it was done for me by my wife and she’s in naij. That made it worse. They think I’m stealing.

    “Then to crown am, my own card dey decline. For the first time in my life, I said the words ‘google me’,” Bovi stated via Instagram.

    TNG reports 31-year-old Leviev, born Shimon Yehuda Hayut, was in 2019 arrested by Interpol in Greece after using a forged passport.

    He was later that year convicted of theft, forgery and fraud and was sentenced to 15 months in prison in Israel but was released five months later as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

    According to The Times of Israel, he allegedly swindled an estimated $10 million from victims across the European continent from 2017 to 2019 alone using a Ponzi scheme.

    In 2022, Netflix released a video documentary, The Tinder Swindler, which describes his story as told by some of his victims.

  • Ponzi scheme: Police arrest 4 Beninois, 2 other suspects in Gombe

    Ponzi scheme: Police arrest 4 Beninois, 2 other suspects in Gombe

    The Police Command in Gombe State, has arrested six suspects over attempt to defraud residents of the state.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Ishola Babaita made this known at a news conference on Friday in Gombe.

    Babaita said that the arrest was made possible through its community policing strategy as well as the proactiveness of the command to rid the state of any form of crime and criminalities.

    According to him, the six suspects comprise two indigenes of Gombe state and four Beninois who entered into the country illegally and were arrested in Gombe on Jan 18.

    “On the Jan. 18, at 8:30 p.m. the command received information that three Hummer buses brought some group of young men numbering about 109.

    “Immediately, Police operatives in synergy with the Department of State Security (DSS) were dispatched to the scene and the people were invited to the DSS facility where they were interrogated.

    “The two Nigerians were transferred to the police for discrete investigations and possible prosecution while the four Beninois were handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service which later returned them back to the police,” the commissioner said.

    Babaita said during the interrogation, the suspects claimed that they were into online networking business called QNET.

    He said that the documents tendered “as Independent Representatives (IR) of the QNRT revealed that an IR is not an employee, agent or official representative of QNET.

    “This means that as IR, they are to be solely responsible for complying with applicable local laws, ethical practices and paying taxes on commissions and assumes all risks related to their IR entrepreneurial activities,” he said.

    According him, the 109 youths were recruited into the state by the six suspects to serve as marketers.

    He said that based on investigations, it was established that the suspects were into ponzi scheme to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

    He added that at the conclusion of the investigation, all suspects would be charged to court.

    Babaita urged residents of the state to be wary of those they transact business with to avoid being defrauded.

    However, one of the suspects, 26-year-old Abdullahi Yusuf from Gombe while speaking with newsmen, denied that the business was fraudulent, saying that it was an online networking.

    Yusuf said he started the business in Benin Republic but decided to come to Gombe state to empower youths with the knowledge of networking.

    Yusuf who insisted that the business was not fraudulent, said he was ready to defend himself in court.

    Solomon Micah, a 27-year-old indigene of Taraba, who was recruited as a marketer, said that he paid N500, 000 to register for the business and got 50 dollars as bonus.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reports that some of the alleged marketers were paraded along with the six main suspects at the police command.

  • Ponzi scheme promoters to spend 10 years in jail as Reps pass new SEC Bill for second reading

    Ponzi scheme promoters to spend 10 years in jail as Reps pass new SEC Bill for second reading

    Promoters of ponzi schemes to bag10 years prison term if the the new bill seeking to make the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the apex regulatory authority over all players in the nation’s capital market passes in the National Assembly and get presidential assent.

    The House in session on Thursday passed for second reading, a Bill for an act to repeal the Investments and Securities Act, 2007 and enact the Investments and Securities Act to Establish Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as the apex Regulatory Authority for the Nigerian capital market.

    If finally passed the Bill would also saddle SEC with the responsibility of regulating the market to ensure capital formation, protection of the market,
    protection of investors, maintenance of fair, efficient and transparent market
    and reduction of systematic risk and for related matters.

    Promoted by Hon. Babangida Ibrahim (APC, Katsina) the amendment Bill seeks to enhance regulation of investment schemes and to effectively combat the proliferation of ponzi (fraudulent investing scam) schemes in Nigeria.

    It provides for the prohibition of ponzi/pyramid schemes and other illegal investment schemes, prescribed a jail term of not less than 10 years for promoters of such activities and empowered SEC to shut down such prohibited investment schemes.

    The Bill introduces the regulation of derivatives and commodities trading to deepen the Nigerian capital market and the economy.

    The legislative brief states that the planned law: “derivative is a bilateral contract whose value is derived at a future date from an underlying asset, such as a commodity, currency, interest rate, property value, company share, etc.”

    “Derivatives are financial instruments used for hedging and risk management. Although the Commission had previously created Rules on the subject matter, the Bill contains provisions that reinforce the Commission’s powers to regulate this category of instruments”, it said.

    Leading the debate Hon. Ibrahim the promoter said the current enabling law for the Nigerian capital market; the Investments and Securities Act, Act No. 29 of 2007 was signed into law by late President Umar Musa Yar’adua in June 2007 (14 years ago).

    He argued that the current trends in capital markets regulation have made it imperative to make major improvements to the Act to align the country’s market with international standards.

    The lawmaker said amongst others, the major essence of the Bill are; introduction of new provisions to regulate the activities of financial market infrastructure, as well as netting and bankruptcy provisions to protect investors in derivatives contracts.

    “There are new provisions on the regulation of Financial Market Intermediaries (FMIs), such as Central Counter Parties (CCPs), Clearing Houses, Trade Depositories etc.

    “The general law of insolvency would have no effect on market contracts or action taken under the rules of an exchange, FMI with respect to market contracts, or an action taken to transfer any collateral.

    “Furthermore, no entity, trade association can operate or hold itself out as a Self Regulatory Organization (SRO) unless recognized or registered as such by SEC. The responsibilities of SRO are also well spelt out, while a new provision has been introduced on netting of financial contracts,” he submitted.

    In a chat with journalists after plenary, the lawmaker said : “We are enhancing provisions relating to efficient regulation of investment scheme. Recently there is a lot of complaints by Nigerians to the extent the FG itself put some embargo on some accounts on Ponzi schemes. So as of the time of signing the current Act, the ponzi scheme was not in existence in Nigeria. So we have to put some regulations to monitor them.

    “Another provision has to do with derivatives and commodity markets. When the existing Act was formed, there were no derivatives on commodity market. if you look at section 223 of the exiting Act, … The plan is to make it a little bit flexible so some tiers of government can be able to approach the capital market to source for fund either for —-projects or specific projects.

    So we introduced other new provisions and some amendments. There are also areas like investors protection fund, also the collaboration between SEC and other agencies in the financial market is also enhanced in the Bill and it also strengthens the authority and enforcement power of the jurisdiction of the securities and investment tribunal. These are agencies in charge of settling dispute between investors,” Hon Ibrahim noted.

  • SEC raises alarm to another fake investment scheme aside Poyoyo

    SEC raises alarm to another fake investment scheme aside Poyoyo

    After alerting the Nigerian public to a ponzi scheme operated by Poyoyo Investment (PILVEST) Nigeria Limited, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria (SEC) has again raised an alarm to another fake investment scheme.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports SEC in a statement published on it’s website stated that the company operating the fake investment scheme is not registered and that the investment scheme promoted by the entities are also not authorized.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria (“SEC”) has been drawn to the activities of an Illegal Operator (FINAFRICA INVESTMENT LIMITED).

    “The Company claimed to be an Investment Company that engages in Business Development in Commercial sectors of the economy and uses the funds in entities under Chimark Group.

    “The Commission hereby notifies the investing public that neither FINAFRICA INVESTMENT LIMITED nor Chimark Group is registered by the SEC and the Investment Scheme promoted by these entities are also not authorized by the SEC.

    “In view of the above, the general public is hereby WARNED that any person dealing with the within named Company in any capital market related business is doing so at his/her own risk”.