It was celebration and commendations galore in Enugu on Thursday as the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission handed over N96.5 million to victims of ponzi scheme managed by one Oyubu Clement Akpojewve, also known as Justice Nonso Chima, the Managing Director, Leverage Index Limited.
One of those who could not hide his joy was Ukwu Ernest Ikechukwue who received N19.9 million draft for his investment in the Ponzi scheme.
For me, I will personally write about the EFCC Enugu Directorate because nobody asked me to give him one Naira. Kudos to EFCC. This is the first time I’m aware that a government agency can actually work and if every other agency can emulate the EFCC, I don’t think we will have problems in this country,” he said while commending the EFCC for its level of professionalism and integrity in discharging its duties.
For EFCC, the road to the recovery of the princely sum began when it received a petition September 30, 2024 from one Chijioke Ngwu and others against Akpojewve.
The petitioners had alleged that Akpojewve lured them into investing in the ponzi scheme with offers two formats a Monthly Plan and another one called Live Trading.
“The Monthly Plan required that an investor transfers a minimum sum of N2.5 million or more to a UBA account number for the firm to use and trade in forex, after which a monthly profit of N200, 000. 00 or 8% of the total money invested is given to the investor, while the initial capital of N2.5million or more is retained for further monthly trading if the investor so wishes
The Live Trading format is such that an investor transfers any amount of money to Leverage Index into the said account for a live trading session on a designated day for the firm to trade with on the same designated day and remit 10% of the total sum transferred initially as profit to the investor the next day, the petitioners said.
But they said after investing the said sum, Akpojewve, who presented himself as a registered forex trader, trading in foreign exchange, started with excuses bordering on disagreement with his trading partners and before they knew it, he shut down his office and became unreachable.
Investigation of the petition by the EFCC however revealed that Akpojewve conspired with his cohorts to defraud victims of their hard -earned money on the guise of investing in a sham forex platform.
EFCC added that it also discovered that the proceeds were recycled among several bank accounts with a view to concealing the final destinations of the funds.
My own final word, beyond giving you the draft, is that this should also serve as a lesson. We should be more circumspect. We should be more vigilant during every business proposal. Some can look too good to be real. We should not be in a hurry to double our money overnight. I think we should learn from this and we should also take it home and talk to our friends, family and our children.
I hope this will serve as encouragement that EFCC is working for you as Nigerians and secondly, to take home that this is a learning point for you, Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, said while handing over the money to the victims on Thursday.
Olukoyede who was represented by the Enugu Zonal Director of the Commission, Commander of the EFCC, CE Daniel Isei reiterated the Commission’s readiness to combat economic and financial crimes and to ensure that where there are cases of losses, the EFCC ensures fraudsters are denied the proceeds of their crime and victims receive their lost funds and properties.
Also commending EFCC over the recovered funds, Ikechukwu Ogbunubi who received N10 million, lauded the Commission for its dogged efforts in recovering the whole money.
I’m overwhelmed with joy and happiness because initially when we started this case, I didn’t believe that the money would be recovered but I am so happy that the EFCC can work very efficiently like this. I am happy that EFCC is doing very well and I pray that you people should continue like this. Nobody asked us for any money to help us investigate the matter. I am so happy, he said.
Other recipients include; Temple Lewis Maduka who got N7.5 million; Ngwu A, who got N19.4 million; Alphonsus Umeh who received N7 million, amongst others.
