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EFCC Recovers Over N200m From Fraudulent Online Ponzi Scheme

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EFCC Unveils Fraudulent Online Ponzi Scheme, Recovers Over N200m

Economic & Financial Crimes Commission

Nigerians Petition EFCC Over Ponzi Scheme

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said a sum of N216,402,565.05 has been recovered from an online investment company, Swiss Golden Investment.

The commission said that results from the investigation carried out revealed that the company “has defrauded over seven thousand Nigerians to the tune of over N3 billion”.

The investigation by the commission came in after citizens complained that they had invested in the online company “advertised as an online investment that deals with buying and selling of gold bars”.

The statement quoted the petitioner as saying the company refused to pay them any dividend or their capital after “investing over a billion naira into the business”.

The petition led the EFCC to the arrest of one Maxim Lobaty, a Russian, and two Nigerians; Austin Emenike and Dickson Nonso Onuchukwu in Lagos.

“The trio were subsequently conveyed to the Kano operational zone of the EFCC for further investigation,” the EFCC said.

“Swiss Golden was discovered through investigation to be a Ponzi scheme that was designed to defraud innocent victims of their hard earned money.

“After being drilled at the commission’s Kano zonal office, Maxim and his co-suspects consented to the refund of the investment. Subsequently, a total sum of N216,402,565.05 have now been recovered.”

“Investigation into the alleged fraud is still ongoing and all efforts are being made to recover the money involved and the alleged suspects be brought to justice,” it said.

Many Nigerians are registered with Swiss Golden which has a networking scheme, just like MMM now of late memory.