Atleast 3M Nigerians Lost N18bn To MMM – NDIC

The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) today disclosed that the social media estimated that three million Nigerians had  lost N18 billion in the Phonzi scheme, popularly called Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM).

The Managing Director of the Corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim disclosed this while speaking at the NDIC day at the ongoing 38th Kaduna International Trade Fair organized by the Kaduna Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture. (KADCCIMA).

Represented by the deputy director Communication and public Affairs  Alh Hadi Birchi Suleiman, the managing director lamented that despite repeated warnings by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  and the corporation,  Nigerians still patronise MMM.

The MD emphasised that frequent   usage  of virtual currencies,  such as Bitcoin, Ripples, Monero, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Onecoin as currencies for medium of exchange are Internet-based transactions and are not authorised by the CBN due to the risks involved in their operations.

He cautioned that any person or groups of persons who invest their money in the Phonzi scheme does so at their own risk.

“The Phonzi scheme is the phenomenon of illegal fund managers, popularly called “Wonder Banks” which have continued to defraud unsuspecting members of the public of their hard earned money. This phenomenon has been a source for concern because despite our repeated warnings over the years,  some members of the public have continued to fall victims of their fraudulent practices.

“We would like to reiterate the fact fact that these fund managers are illegal as they are neither licences by the CBN to take deposits from members of the public not are those who patronise them covered by the NDIC deposit insurance scheme.

” I want to also draw the attention of some cooperative society which often go beyond their primary mandate by accepting contributions from members as cooperative societies are only recognised to mobilise savings from their members”.

While advising the general public on the dangers of keeping large sums of money at home or in market shops,  he said there are 978 licences microfinance Banks nationwide out if which seven are spread across Kaduna state and should be patronize for safe keeping of their monies.

He noted that with the advent of the cashless policy and the subsequent licensing of mobile money operators (MMOs) by the CBN,  the corporation has extended deposit insurance cover to the subscribers of MMOs to the maximum limit of N500, 000 per subscriber per bank through it’s Pass-Through Deposit Insurance Framework.

“Avoid mouth watering interest rate being used to lure you into becoming a victim thereby loosing. Your hard earn monies, don’t be deceived”.

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Finally! The Man Behind MMM Nigeria Has Been Revealed... See Interesting Details About Him

The man behind the emergence of the popular financial scheme, MMM Nigeria, has been unveiled as new information about him emerges.

 Pastor Ernest Chigozie Mbanefo

 

One Pastor Ernest Chigozie Mbanefo, a Nigerian, has been revealed as the mastermind of the suspected Ponzi scheme known as MMM Nigeria.

 

The man is reportedly based in South Africa.

 

Nigerian Communications Week, NCW, said Mbanefo registered the site MMM-Nigeria.net domain on June 7, 2016 at about 5 pm Nigerian time.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, quoting NCW And Pageone report written as far back as September said Mbanefo made a single year domain payment.

 

The domain will expire on June 7, 2017.

 

It was also revealed that MMM Nigeria is not part of MMM Global – a Russian company that was responsible for one of the world’s largest Ponzi schemes in the 1990s. MMM Global was founded by Russian politician Sergei Mavrodi, his brother Vyacheslav Mavrodi and Olga Melnikova.

 

The name of the company was taken from the first letters of the three founders’ surnames (MMM) But like MMM Global, the Nigerian scheme is also a pyramid marketing scheme where an investor gets a 30 per cent return on investment.

 

Around the world, MMM is feared.

 

In January 2016 the Chinese government banned MMM on the grounds that it is a pyramid scheme, (Ponzi scheme), and it is not registered in the country (and as a fraudulent scheme cannot be registered.

 

MMM recently crashed in Zimbabwe: Thousands of ‘Mavrodians’ in Zimbabwe were left in tears when the scheme crashed, losing tens of thousands of their lifetime savings.

 

PageOne gave Mbanefo’s address as 1 ROYAL STREET, LINDBERG PARK, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA.

 

According to Page One, on the 15th of July, Ernest was awarded a certificate of completion of an online course titled ‘MMM Guiders School’. The certificate was supposedly signed by Sergei Mavrodi himself. He has since given himself the nickname the ‘Super Guider of MMM’.

 

To share news and information about MMM, Ernest also operates a subdomain ‘news.mmm-nigeria.net. The site praises him and projects him as the leader of the Ponzi Scheme in Nigeria.

 

He is described as: 'MMM Nigeria Super Guider; Pastor Ernest Mbanefo, has been selflessly helping thousands of MMM Nigeria Participants whether or not they fall under his downline structure. The brain behind the MMM NIGERIA REVOLUTION operation has been working selflessly and tirelessly towards the education, information and proper guidance for the MMM Nigeria Community’

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Omg! Lagos Woman Lands in Serious Trouble After Investing All Her Family Savings in MMM

A woman's untamed desire to invest lots of money in the MMM ponzi scheme for bigger returns, has left in much more pain than she bargained for.

 

A housewife, identified as Mrs. Ogenyi has been beaten to stupor by her angry husband.

 

Her husband brutally beat her up for allegedly investing the family’s saving in Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, otherwise known as MMM.

 

According to Daily Post, the problem ensued between the couple, who resides on Balogun Street, Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos Sunday afternoon, after the husband returned from a trip to his hometown in Benue and discovered that the family saving box was missing.

 

On inquiry from his son, Oche, the father was informed that the mother went out with her friend around 4pm and had not returned.

 

The husband who works as a driver with one of the commercial transport companies later found the saving box broken and empty in the wardrobe.

 

A co-tenant revealed that on her return, the woman was shocked to see the husband as he was not expected home until month end due to the nature of his job.

 

According to the eyewitness, the husband inquired to know who broke the saving box but the wife could not give him any satisfactory answer.

 

“When the husband threatened to beat the wife if she fails to tell him who broke the box, she accepted breaking the box and investing the money into MMM. She thought she could get 30 per cent of her income and replace the money before the husband could return,” the source said.

 

The source said the husband had saved the money, over N86, 000, for their new accommodation.

 

Angered by her action, the husband descended on the wife in commando style, beating her blue black.

 

All her efforts to explain to the husband that the money would yield income in the next 30 days fell on deaf ears as the husband insisted she must cough out the money before morning.

 

The man, who locked the door of their one room apartment to prevent sympatisers from rescuing the helpless woman eventually hit the woman with breakable plate and she collapsed.

 

The source said on realizing his wife was unconscious, he quickly ran out of the room, living the woman and their three-year-old son and fled to unknown destination.

 

The neighbours took her to the hospital where she is currently battling for her life.

 

Daily Post reports that the Lagos State PPRO, Dolapo Badmus, was contacetd for her reaction, however, she has not responded to a text message as the time of filing this report.

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Tension as Angry Nigerians Blast House of Reps, CBN, Over Plans to Shut Down MMM Scheme

Following the widespread reports that the government and the CBN are planning to shut down MMM, members of the scheme have reacted violently.

 

The House of Representatives has been blasted by some promoters of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, otherwise known as ‘MMM’ in Nigeria.

 

The MMM members lambasted the House of Reps for ‘witch hunting’ them.

 

This is coming after the House of Representatives described the scheme as a “scam” and warned Nigerians to stop dealing in it.

 

The lawmakers, on Wednesday, directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to immediately go after the promoters of MMM in Nigeria.

 

The lawmakers observed that the current economic recession in the country gave popularity to the scheme which offers 30 per cent return on investment for any money put into the scheme within 30 days.

 

The investment scheme has a Russian origin and “involves directing clients to make money available for an anonymous person with a promise of 30 per cent return within one month.”

 

Also, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, had revealed plans to shut down the scheme in Nigeria, insisting it is fraudulent.

 

According to Daily Post, a branch manager of a new generation bank in Nigeria, revealed that: “All these people that are against MMM are not ready to take risks or they have been victims of networking schemes and online businesses that didn’t pay them well.

“It’s not like they doubt MMM, they are just naïve about how the whole thing works. It’s magical, you know.

“Even the banks are furious because they can’t just believe that any deposit scheme can promise a 30% interest rate after 30 days, but I am a banker and I am not in doubt.

“Even some bankers are enjoying from MMM; the unemployed also are not left out. To an average Nigerian, the benefits of MMM is not far-fetched.

Another member, Tonye Ibim, said: “There are people that now have more than a million in their accounts in few months via the scheme and have not scammed or been scammed by anybody.

“I only can’t understand why members of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives are witch hunting the scheme.

“The government should be happy now that people are surviving- not begging and living in penury.

“They have refused to pass a bill that will bring about employment and revive the bad economy, yet they have the time to debate on a scheme that is saving us in this bad economic recession. Do you know how many people would have taken to crime due to lack of jobs in the country if not for MMM?”

 

Meanwhile, a top media personality, who is ‘against’ the scheme, is of the opinion that as more people get registered or want to play the game, so the scheme would continue to encounter difficulty with people wanting to get loan.

 

He said, “They now chase after the bonuses of the game, they are just waiting for people to call them for help. a time will come that nobody will be taking again and that will be the end of the game.

“It is fraudulent, that’s the truth.”

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MMM Member Cries Foul, Blasts CBN and House of Reps (Watch Video)

Ibraheem Musa Usman who is a member of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox in Kano has vented his anger on the House of Representatives for directing the EFCC to arrest promoters of the investment scheme.

Ibraheem Musa Usman

 

Following the decision of the House of Representatives to direct and issue warning to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately arrest promoters of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, otherwise known as ‘MMM’ in Nigeria, a member of the group has come out to defend it. 

 

Ibraheem Musa Usman from Kano made a video to defend the investment scheme and blasted the House of Representatives for trying to tarnish the image of the promoters and the business scheme. He urged the House of Representatives to set their priorities straight instead of poke-nosing into affairs that doesn't concern them. 

 

It has been argued that the scheme is something encouraging as it delivers for most Nigerians who have been bashed by the harsh economic recession. Many people have called for a more friendly negotiation between the promoters and the CBN whereby the scheme can be registered and an office created for any avoidance of doubt. 

 

Usman called on CBN and the House of Representatives to desist from tarnishing the image of the scheme as many Nigerians have now been made to believe that the business scheme is scam.

 

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Wednesday, ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately go after the promoters.

 

It specifically asked the EFCC to arrest MMM promoters and prosecute them. Most of the lawmakers who added to the discussion opposed the investment scheme and labeled it scam.

 

MMM gained popularity recently in Nigeria following the current economic recession in the country. MMM Global has swept across Africa, with branches promising returns on investment of 30 per cent a month in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and some east African states.

 

It is masterminded by the former Russian politician Sergey Mavrodi, who went on the run when the original MMM – standing for Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox – collapsed in the late 1990s, losing investors an estimated $100m.

 

The lawmakers warned Nigerians to be careful as this is yet another trick investment fraudsters use to attract people before vanishing with their money. The House directed the EFCC, security agencies and the CBN to take urgent steps to halt the scheme before many Nigerians would become victims of the scam.

 

Watch video below:

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MMM is a Scam, I Have Lost N189,000 - Nigerian Man Weeps on Social Media

An unnamed Nigerian man has lamented on the loss of his funds amounting to N189,000 which he invested in the popular Ponzi scheme - MMM.

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN recently issued a warning on online investment scheme tagged: ‘MMM Federal Republic of Nigeria'.

 

It warned Nigerians against investing in the 'Wonder Bank' which lures the general public to participate in what it called “mutual aid financial network,” with a monthly investment return of 30 per cent.

 

The warnings of the apex bank and other financial bodies have fallen on deaf ears and majority of the masses stricken by economic recession have found solace in the Ponzi Scheme despite fears of its imminent failure.

An unnamed Nigerian who is shy about the disclosure of his identity has accused MMM Global of scamming him of his funds amounting to N189,000 which is part of the proceeds he has gathered from the financial engagement over months.

"It started on the 19th June 2016, My Friend introduced me to this MMM of a thing. I obliged and joined. It was paying well, there was no comma or full stop, not all".

"Till I opened an account for my cousin who shared the same surname. Fast forward, MMM administrator placed my account on temporary moratorium of getting help as they provide and get help in the system on 13th September 2016 and told me to verify identity of which I did" the victim continued.

"After that, I kept on contacting MMM Support of which they assured me they will remove their God forsaken temporary moratorium which they have used to scam thousands of participants (not only me) as I found out they do it secretly and MMM fortifies its system with this.That also account in a way how they pay 30‰ to their teeming community of 30% earners (Guiders,referrals and ordinary participants).

 

"Only for my account to be blocked by the administrator earlier today that I used two accounts that the registration and referral bonuses have been deleted while my #90,000 I paid since when I started MMM which yielded 189,000 naira parted with the blocked account," He painfully concluded.

 

Screenshots from the victim's financial transactions

 

Meanwhile, a personal research by Tori News revealed MMM is still operational and the user who shared the screenshots was suspected to have abused the community standards which attracts a penalty of forfeiture of financial investments.

 

MMM Global still remains a risk as the scheme could fold up unexpectedly according to financial analysts who have traced its history of woes in several countries namely Russia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and others.

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UK Newspaper Warn Nigerians to Stay Away from MMM Ponzi Scheme, Wonder Bank

Nigerians have been given a sound and stern warning not to suffer the fate that befell most Zimbabweans recently by staying off MMM Ponzi scheme.

 

Nigerians have been warned that MMM Ponzi scheme everyone is rushing now to invest in might be a disaster in the waiting as it has been revealed that the scheme is run by a convicted Russian fraudster.

 

The warning came from the UK Independent. Read full details below.

 

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Thousands of investors are feared to have lost their money after a pyramid scheme run by a convicted Russian fraudster crashed, somewhat predictably, in Zimbabwe.

 

MMM Global has swept across Africa, with branches promising returns on investment of 30 per cent a month in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and some east African states.

 

It is masterminded by the former Russian politician Sergey Mavrodi, who went on the run when the original MMM – standing for Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox – collapsed in the late 1990s, losing investors an estimated $100m.

 

On its website, MMM Global unashamedly advertises itself as a scheme whereby new members “assist” older members by paying a fee to join. Older members are allowed to withdraw money after a certain period of time, and receive bonuses for encouraging others to sign up.

 

Mavrodi himself is reported to have gone into hiding after a separate entity designed to reward investors with the cryptocurrency bitcoin – dubbed the “Republic of Bitcoin” – folded in April this year.

 

And since then, a criminal investigation has been launched into MMM Global’s branch in South Africa, after a probe by the National Consumer Commission “found something” to suggest the scheme was acting illegally.

 

With Zimbabwe’s traditional financial institutions in jeopardy and the country gripped by an economic crisis, thousands turned to MMM Global as an investment that was avowedly independent of government control.

 

That’s despite a warning from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe that the scheme was fraudulent. RBZ warned members of the public that existing investors were “paid money not from genuine market investment of their funds, but from contributions made by new investors, until a point when the scheme can no longer attract new investors”.

 

Sure enough, users reported being unable to withdraw any funds earlier this month. One told The Herald newspaper: “When we started putting our funds in the scheme one could get assistance within seven days but things later changed to 14 days and when we were shut out the waiting period was 21 days. 

“What it simply means is that the number of people in need of help has outnumbered the number of people joining. Right now we have nowhere to get our money which we invested.” 

 

Despite the cautionary tales of Zimbabwe and South Africa – and indeed the original MMM scheme – a branch is now proving increasingly popular in Nigeria.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has been forced to step in, warning consumers not to deposit money in any institution that is not insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

 

The bank’s comms director, Isaac Okoroafor, described MMM Global as “a new Ponzi scheme … that is spreading like wildfire”.

“These people always come with very interesting propositions,” Mr Okoroafor said. “These are fraudsters who are just out there to collect people’s money and run away as soon as they hit their target.”

 

MMM Global’s members across Africa continue to defend its legitimacy, publishing screengrabs showing withdrawals as proof the scheme pays out.

 

In South Africa, where a Ponzi scheme is defined as any investment where the return is 20 per cent higher than the repo rate (currently 7 per cent), an anonymous member told business website Fin24:“MMM honestly tell people how it really works and do not promise people any return on the investments.

“As a donation programme, how is it possible to lose your donation? In MMM people ask each other to help them. It depends on the members themselves to maintain the continuation of the process of the provision of help to each other.”

 

A number of South African banks have now started shutting down accounts they believe could be linked to MMM, while in Zimbabwe the trusted mobile money transfer company EcoCash has distanced itself from the scheme, saying it is “not liable for any losses arising from the use of EcoCash to engage in illegal activities such as Ponzi schemes”.

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