The House of Representatives on Wednesday called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to go after the promoters of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, otherwise known as MMM, in Nigeria.
Lawmakers also mandated its committees on banking and currency and financial crimes to investigate the scheme.
The MMM is a deposit money scheme that promises a 30 per cent interest on investment per month.
Despite its popularity amongst Nigerians of all classes, critics maintain that the business is a ponzi scheme because its operators use money from later investors to pay earlier investors.
Those behind the venture are not known to the Nigerian regulatory agencies, including the CBN and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
The business is also said not to have been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), making it difficult to identify its promoters.
Regulatory and anti-corruption agencies had earlier warned Nigerians against participating in the scheme.
But lawmakers said members of a syndicate who conduct seminars to train people on how to invest in the business should be arrested.
The development followed a motion of urgent national importance raised by Saheed Fijabi from Oyo State, who described MMM as a “Rob Peter to Pay Paul Scheme”.
Fijabi said the operators of MMM are exploiting the economic situation of Nigerians that had left them desperate for income through any means without considering the implications.
“The scheme entered the Nigerian circle in 2016, capitalising on the high level of unemployment and poverty to deceive unwary Nigerians into falling prey to the antics of the promoters,” Fijabi stated.
He said the fact that the MMM was not regulated by law or approved by the CBN as a secured business venture made Nigerians more vulnerable.
“Any Nigerian, who is participating in the MMM scheme, which is not regulated by law, is vulnerable to losing his/her investment, as there is no identifiable platform to guarantee the security of such, given the declaration by the CBN that the scheme is fraudulent,” he told the House.
Deputy House Minority Leader, Chukwuka Onyeama, recalled that in the past, Nigerians had fallen prey to ponzi investment schemes and banks that promised huge profits.
Onyeama cited the case of the infamous ‘Umana-Umana’ wonder bank, which operated in Calabar, Cross River State, years back.
He added, “We have a responsibility to guide Nigerians before the bubble bursts. Very soon, people will begin to commit suicide or resort to this same House by writing petitions on how some investors took their money away.
“The profit margin promised by the MMM is too good to be real. What type of business gives you such return over a short period?”
Another lawmaker from Ondo State, Bode Ayorinde, said lawmakers should be concerned because they will likely be inundated with petitions if the scheme goes burst.
“When the business goes burst, it is the same House that people will flood with petitions,” Ayorinde said.
An Enugu lawmaker, Dennis Amadi, said the House should save Nigerians from themselves, because the collapse of MMM could make many commit suicide.
“The House will not wait until these crooks defraud Nigerians of billions of naira or until people start committing suicide,” Amadi said.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara ruled that the motion was adopted and urged the committee to expedite its investigation and report back to House within four weeks.
