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Tag: MMM

  • Panic as MMM stops payment

    Panic as MMM stops payment

    •Scheme issues one-month freeze

    •LASEMA: report any suicide attempt

    Many Nigerians were shocked yesterday to learn that the popular money making scheme, Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM), had placed a one- month freeze on withdrawals.
    A letter displayed on pages of participants of the scheme cited “heavy workload on system” as reason for the freeze.
    This means members of the Ponzi scheme, who are due to withdraw their capital and 30 per cent return on investments, cannot do so until sometime in January.
    According to the letter, the freeze on withdrawals is partly due to negative reports by the media on the scheme.
    The letter reads: “One-month Freezing of Confirmed Mavros. Dear members, as usual in the New Year season, the system is experiencing heavy workload. Moreover, it has to deal with the constant frenzy provoked by authorities in the mass media.
    “The things are still going well; the participants feel calm; everyone gets paid – as you can see, there haven’t been any payment delays or other problems yet – but… it is better to avoid taking risk. Moreover, there are just three weeks left to the New Year.
    “On the basis of the above mentioned, therefore, all confirmed Mavros will be frozen for a month.
    “The reason for this measure is evident. We need to prevent any problems during the New Year and then, when everything calms down, this measure will be cancelled, which we will definitely do.
    “We hope for your understanding. Administration.”
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have warned Nigerians against participating in the scheme, which they described as a “Ponzi” scheme.
    The House of Representatives, in October, ordered an investigation into operations of the scheme.
    The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency alerted families to be vigilant against possible suicide by subscribers and investors.
    On its Twitter account yesterday, the agency directed families and friends of subscribers to call 112 in case of or suspicion suicide in any part of the state.
    Yesterday, there was a report trending on social media of a man who attempted to commit suicide over the alleged crashing of the scheme.
    The report which could not be confirmed said the Benue man was shocked that he could not collect the returns on his N300,000 investment, which he would have used for his wedding, planned for January.
    MMM Nigeria tweeted that the scheme’s management had only frozen investors access to accounts and operations, to enable it rectify issues about panic withdrawal and not that it had crashed.
    It described the one month freezing as a step to ensure the sustainability and stability of the MMM Nigeria system.
    It added: “There is nothing to worry about, while your Mavro is in one month freezing, it continues to grow so there is nothing to be worried about. Just continue to PH to earn 50 per cent more.”
    According to information on MMM Nigeria website, about over two million Nigerians are participating in the scheme.
    MMM was established in 1989 by Sergei Mavrodi, his brother Vyacheslav and Olga Melnikova.
    The name of the company was taken from the first letters of the three founders’ surnames.
    Initially, the company imported computers and office equipment. In January 1992, tax police accused MMM of tax evasion, leading to the collapse of MMM-bank, and causing the company to have difficulty obtaining financing to support its operations.
    Faced with difficulties in funding its foreign trade, the company switched to the financial sector. It offered American stocks to Russian investors, but met with little success.
    Later, MMM-Invest was created for the purpose of collecting vouchers during privatisation. This effort was similarly unsuccessful.
    MMM created its successful Ponzi scheme in 1994. The company started attracting money from private investors, promising annual returns of up to one thousand per cent. It is unclear whether a Ponzi scheme was Mavrodi’s initial intention, inasmuch as such extravagant returns might have been possible during the Russian hyperinflation in such commerce as import-export.
    At its peak the company was taking in more than 100 billion rubles (about 50 million USD) each day from the sale of its shares to the public. Thus, the cash flow turnover at the MMM central office in Moscow was so high that it could not be estimated. The management started to count money in roomfuls (1 roomful of money, 2 roomfuls of money, etc.).

     

  • Any Christian who plays MMM or Lotto needs deliverance – Suleman

    Any Christian who plays MMM or Lotto needs deliverance – Suleman

    Apostle Johnson Suleman, General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries International, has condemned the Ponzi Scheme – MMM -which is fast gaining ground in the country, reports Adetutu Audu.

    The General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International (OFM), Apostle Johnson Suleman, has asked members of the public and his congregation to dissociate themselves from anything that has to do with Mavrodi Mondial Movement, an investment scheme popularly called MMM, and any other get-rich-quick schemes, saying they are satanic ventures aimed at further impoverishing the poor and stealing from the rich to enrich some other people.
    Suleman, giving a sermon at the maiden edition of his ministry’s International Amazing Grace 2016 programme, said “MMM is Satanic and those involved in it are demonic.”
    “MMM is an agenda set to bring limitations and restrictions into your life, it is meant to make poorer the poor and take away from the rich,” said the clergyman, adding that if you want to know more about MMM, “go and check the founder. He was a fraudster in America, who defrauded a lot of people. And that’s what you are involving yourself in and you are a Christian, looking for easy way out.”
    Many Christians have gotten involved, he said, “but if you are already involved in MMM, you need prayer. I have to pray for you today. MMM and its likes are not of God. Any quick fix way for money is not of God because some people are being defrauded to enrich some other people.”
    The clergyman warned further that any quick-rich scheme is wrong, saying that “even kings can be stranded. Anyone can be. You may be stranded but you can’t be strangled.
    “In life, everything you get, if it’s not favour from a particular individual. If it’s quick favour through a process, you will pay for it later. If it’s a person you know that walked up to you and blesses you, take it. That’s favour. But a quick business transaction that can bring a return of over 200 persons, is not of God. That is why we take it upon ourselves to do charity works, help the needy and feed them with the Word. When you give, your greatness is not in your properties but in how many lives you have sustained,” he pointed out.
    Fresh in Suleman’s charity activities is the support given to a popular Nollywood actor, Leo Mezie, who was down with a kidney infection. At the point of soliciting funds from the public, it got to the hearing of Apostle Suleman. In his uniqueness, the troubled actor was advised to stop raising funds but to seek proper medical check up to identify what was really wrong with his health. On getting to England, he found out that it was just an infection not that his kidney malfunctioned. The man of God took it up from there, paid for the cleansing and treatment, according to the actor himself while giving public testimony of his miraculous survival. “Apostle Suleman took over all my medical bills, I mean every of it through my stay in the UK. I did not lack anything. I thank God for using Apostle Suleman to save me from death.”
    Meanwhile, the Amazing Grace night was a powerful evening of miracles, impartation and divine restoration which held at the headquarters of the Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide (OFM), Auchi, Edo State. The first-of-its-kind programme, among fantastic gospel music makers listed for the praise night was Austine, an amazing worshipper and song leader. Also, there was the emerging Gospel R n B Sensation, Collins Kings. Collins whose debut single, “Before your throne”, has been enjoying massive airplays from around the globe. ‘Eshe Baba’ crooner, Nancy Grace, 3JWYZ, a celebrated gospel music minister with several amazing hit songs to his credit; The Triumphant Sisters, a group of beautiful voices, among others.

  • That Reps order on MMM

    SIR: I read the report of the order given by the House of Representatives, directing the Economic and

    Financial Crime Commission, EFCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to swiftly go after the promoters of the famous “wonder-working bank” that has monopolised the economic space of the ‘common’ and ‘non-common’ Nigerians, known was Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox a.k.a MMM.

    The members overtly assumed, in the temperament of the said order, the role of a passionate father and a good ‘shepherd’, whose primary concern is to watch over the flocks, one who would not allow any stint of untoward thing to befall the sheep. There may not be any crime in that, and in fact one must not but applaud such a caring attitude, but only when the illocution and genuineness of such generosity is not self-styled, or questionable.

    The argument of the lawmakers was that MMM, “was not regulated by law or approved by CBN as a secure business venture” and that it “made Nigerians more vulnerable”. One cannot but to just wonder at the very implicating though interesting lexicons used to describe the scheme as being a “scam and a “trick”.

    The main crux of my lamentation is that the government or any of its organs or agencies has no moral impetus to choose for Nigerians what to do and what not to; especially in such a pitiable situation where the nation’s economy is radically deteriorating every day while the government is utterly confused and seems not to have a way out.

    Whether MMM is a legal or illegal business is an ethical question that that will lead to an open-ended debate. It is an incontrovertible fact that Nigeria runs one of the most expensive legislatures in the world. The incentives attached to the running of our legislature are nothing compared to the output we are getting from our hallowed and hollowed chambers; our legislature, frankly, is a white elephant project.

    My angst against the government is that we have many people seated in ‘high places’ with totally dead or moribund conscience. For how can a government ask one, being a poor man, to make a sacrifice with, say his meagre earnings, while they are living an overt opulence and affluence? How does one reconcile a situation where the clueless, those that are bereft of ideas, who know nothing about the real business of legislature or governance, are the ones ruling and lording over the intelligentsia?

    The German philosopher, Yogens Hevamas once said that “Modernity is about public sphere and the quality of conversations that go on”.”No wonder the country is where it is today.

     

    • Matthew Ige,

    Bauchi.

  • MMM: Robbing Peter to pay Paul?

    About two weeks ago, a friend told me he had a business opportunity for me, and that it was the gateway to financial liberation. As a young person seeking to be free from the shackles of pocket money collection I eagerly asked what it was and he sent me a link to read about this business called MMM.

    The moment I heard the name, I asked “isn’t this that Ponzi scheme”? (I had seen a news headline calling it so) He quickly replied in the negative, stating that it was a very legitimate way of getting financial independence.

    As the baby lawyer that I am, I decided to do my due diligence about this gateway to financial independence and I discovered the following:

    According to the official website for Nigeria it is a “giving community filled with people who are ready to help without any legal agreements, contracts” you can bet this last part got all my alarms ringing…what? No agreements or contracts?? You mean I just give money to strangers via the internet? The answer to this question is a resounding YES! In fact, the MMM rule states that all they require is that participants be kind and deal honestly with each other…this almost seems to me like living in a fantasy world. This means if there is a default there is no proof to show that I indeed invested money, since there are no documents evidencing contract. This did not sit well with me at all.

    The catch is that you get 30 percent of whatever amount you “help” anyone with, and whenever you invite anyone into the scheme you get 10 percent of the amount your invitee invests. So the higher you give, the more you get. In fact reaching me is that there is a promo going on where by just registering without even giving any money you are guaranteed a donation of a certain amount of money, sounds pretty cool right? I mean who doesn’t need money in these financial times.

    But then I asked myself the question, “how do they get this interest?” There is no mention of the money being used to trade or being invested. In fact, the site states very clearly that there is no central account where all this money goes into and that the money only exists in the banking accounts of the participants.

    Another thing that set all my legal alarms ringing is the fact that this organisation is not registered with any regulatory body in the country.

    The Central Bank Of Nigeria which is the apex bank in the country, and the regulatory body of commercial bank, has openly come out to state that the MMM scheme is one that is done at the investor’s risk and that the MMM operations are not registered with it. The Securities and Exchange Commission has done the same.

    It is also important to note that the organisation is not a registered organisation with the body charged with the power of giving legal status to a company-the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). If it is truly a scheme with the aim of helping people in need with money, why not register the company as a charity with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under Part C of the Companies’ and Allied Matters Act?

    Since nobody knows who is directly responsible for the MMM scheme, if said persons or people decide to up and run with everybody’s money or if it gets to a point where the scheme can no longer pay its investors due to a reduced amount of money pumped in by investors as is highly expected. There would be no one to sue or even ask for your hard earned money from. Everything literally vanishes into thin air.

    Though I’m not out to discredit their credibility, in this economic times it is advisable that discretion is applied before financial investments are made. Without incorporation, registration, and no known directors in sight….this baby lawyer’s nose smells a rat.

    • From Obadan Gbeminiyi

    gbemieobadan@gmail.com

     

  • Reps warn Nigerians against investing in MMM scheme

    Reps warn Nigerians against investing in MMM scheme

    The House of Representatives has warned Nigerians to desist from investing in the Mavrodi Monrodi Moneybox scheme popularly known as MMM or risk loss of their funds.

    The call was sequel to a unanimous adoption of a motion by Rep. Saheed Akinade-Fajabi (Oyo-APC) at plenary on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Akinade-Fajabi, in the motion earlier, said that the scheme was set up by three Russian nationals in 1989 and that clients were made to invest monies with the hope to make 30 per cent interest in 30 days.

    He said that the structure and operations of the scheme indicated otherwise as clients could have multi-level structures under them and earn bonus.

    He said that the scheme prided itself as a mutual fund through which recruited clients contributed money in form of assistance without any intent to engage in banking business.

    According to the lawmaker, the scheme entered Nigeria in 2016, capitalising on the high level of unemployment and poverty in the country to deceive and make Nigerians fall prey of their antics.

    He said that a similar scheme had been launched in Russia by the same founder where investors lost millions of dollars, adding that the scheme had been banned in China to avert “financial havoc’’.

    It could be recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had admonished Nigerians on the MMM scheme, saying it was fraudulent.

    In his ruling, the Speaker of the House, Mr Yakubu Dugara, mandated the Committee on Banking and Currency to investigate the scheme with the view of saving Nigerians participating in it from financial disaster.

  • MMM: My greatest fear

    MMM: My greatest fear

    “That my circumstances will not, one day, change to erode or compromise either my Principle, Integrity or Belief.”

     

    Bae spoke to me about a scheme a few months back, and without listening for too long, I got the gist and swiftly killed her presentation.

    I know those schemes – PONZI. But this one is called, MMM

    Without realizing how much fire this movement had caught on, I got to the office today and heard many testimonies. But the two most striking ones…

    1) This is the most TRANSPARENT PONZI Scheme ever – (How PONZI and Transparent happen to find its way into the same sentence is very confusing.)

    As a matter of fact, it is disingenuous. For, the transparency outlook makes the scheme appear reliable and accommodating

    2) Someone ‘they’ know somewhere just bought a car after his “Provide Help/Get Help click click” matured – MMM Web App terminologies. An encouraging testimony.

    Apparently, my office has been a MMM branch office for a while now. Testimonies only just started coming out. One need to see the motivated presentation and pep talk I was given, just to gain my buy-in.

    I confess, it was convincing.You do not need to be a marketer to give a good sales pitch. People do know how to sell a product or any type of service, most especially when given the right motivation. My office team, were not any different. They were animated, trying to sell me MMM.

    I was impressed. Attention to details; full product (MMM) knowledge; live presentation and question and answer.

    Should I still be in doubt – case studies were highlighted, plus personal testimonies – clients, families and friends. The list was extensive.

    So how does MMM work?

    Sincerely speaking, understanding MMM’s business module is very vague on detail. But I will try – You see, you have a spare N100,000 you don’t mind throwing away (MMM clearly warns you on its website, not to use money you cannot lose – disingenuous, yes?).

    You register your personal details on the MMM website and click on provide help to start ‘investment’. You then should wait for about 2 weeks to be paired with someone who needs a N100,000. All the while, the N100,000 you have committed to MMM still resides in your own personal account, so you have this safe feeling that your money is still with you and not lost. In addition, while this committed money is in your possession, you can log in to MMM website to see your virtual N100,000 accruing interest at 1% per day – remember about 14 days have gone, so you should expect to see something like N114,000 in your virtual MMM account

    Soon as you are paired, you transfer the N100, 000 directly to the person you are paired with. Both of you, by now, have direct contact with each other and can relate on phone or any preferred means of communication. MMM is not involved in anyway.

    Then you wait out the remaining days of the 30 days, to cash out. While waiting, you can always log into your MMM account to watch your interest continue to grow daily! At the end, you will be credit N130, 000 by someone (probably another maga) you are paired with.

    Simple!

    On the surface, this is how MMM works. No interaction with MMM providers. No service charge, aside penalties, if you default on your commitment.

    Pastors now advertise MMM in churches – I think you should avoid these kinds of Pastors and Churches.

    Workplaces now turned to MMM recruitment agencies. Businessmen and women now invest in MMM since the ROI is 30% in a month (why do I need to bother with buying goods from China, when there’s no guarantee I will have my goods shipped and cleared through customs in 30 days).

    “MMM promises me N300k for my N1 million in ONE MONTH!”

    I would be a fool not to partake after the whole impromptu session, which lasted less than an hour!

    But you know.  .. it is still a PONZI scheme!

    Conspiracy

    Why and what exactly is money exchanging hands for, in this scheme?
    It is not a stock neither does it possess its characteristics, nor it has no physical material or composition.

    How does Sergie Madrovi, or the MMM franchize in Nigeria make money?

    I cannot claim to know the answers to these questions, but basic common sense would tell us, there is nothing free in Freetown.

    MMM could be your ultimate Trojan! All its operation is on a website. Through the website, you enter all your personal details including bank information. Opening the website on your private PC could also install rogue bots that will capture every other data you have on your PC outside just visiting the MMM’s website, and that includes your key strokes! This is very insidious.

    Data mining is the future. And you may just be providing MMM every single information you possess without signing a contract. This is besides intending this, for Google’s ad sense and general advertising purpose.

    RED LIGHT!

    My Advice

    – Just be aware MMM is a PONZI scheme. This kind of scheme, always wearing a new look and new name each time, often show up when a nation is in misery or in recession. Guess which countries its featuring on in Africa at the moment… Zimbabwe & Nigeria

    – It has a lifespan. Probably 1 year, if really good and the machinery is well perfected by its organizers. I see this one dead, by mid next year. If this helps, do note that it has gone bad in South Africa & Russia

    – However, if you are going to go for a risky venture (remember, risk is neither good nor bad), GO BIG & ONCE. Do not attempt to be cautious or claim smartness about this, saying:

    “I’ll do N20k, if it comes back, I’ll increase to N50k, then N100k”.

    Trust me, you would have played yourself by the time you want to invest the N100k. That is what these schemes aim for – PROGRESSIVE GREED! ?.

    What you do if, and when, convinced is, take a reasonable sum (say N100k or N200k), close your eyes and JUST DO IT!
    If you win – Cash out and say bye bye
    If you lose – Your bad

    Like I have communicated earlier, Do Not Be Greedy!

    But you can always make an attempt to take an advantage of a scheme that is scheming to scheme you

    One thing for sure, MMM, even though having a dangerous curve, is lifting the mood of Nigerians off the gloomy cloud of recession – for now

    This is my opinion on MMM. And please, do not forget to read on the founder – Sergei Mavrodi

     

    Oyinloye is an IT consultant and social commentator