Abuja, Nigeria — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed that Nigerians have lost an estimated three hundred and sixteen billion naira to Ponzi schemes and illegal fund managers over the years, describing the situation as a growing threat to investor confidence and financial stability.
Speaking at a journalists’ academy in Abuja, the Head of FinTech and Innovation Department at the SEC, AbdulRasheed Dan-Abu, said greed and ignorance remain the major factors driving the alarming spread of investment fraud across the country.
He explained that Ponzi schemes are fraudulent operations that pay returns to earlier investors using funds collected from new entrants rather than from any legitimate business activity. “These schemes are not really doing anything,” he said. “They are just collecting people’s money and using it to pay the initial investors. At some point, when there are no new investors, the whole thing crashes and the operators disappear.”
According to him, the desire for instant wealth has made many Nigerians easy targets. “Everybody just wants to get rich today. That is actually what makes people fall into this trap,” he said. “Even the people who are greedy now are more educated than those who experienced Charles Ponzi’s first scheme. Education has not stopped greed.”
Dan-Abu recalled how notorious platforms such as MMM Nigeria lured thousands of people with promises of 30 percent monthly returns. Many victims even reinvested after its collapse, believing in false promises to recover their lost funds. “Even after MMM shut down, they came back and told people that if you pay a certain amount, you will get access to your lost money. People still paid. That shows how greed blinds people,” he added.
He also recounted how a fraudulent operation known as New Nation Women in Oil disguised itself as a government-endorsed empowerment programme and trapped more than 155,000 rural women. “Many sold their houses and cars to invest because they believed it was real. It shows how dangerous this thing is when people do not ask questions,” he said.
SEC’s internal data revealed that several fake schemes have defrauded investors of billions of naira over time. Among them were losses of ₦100 million each in Cow Lane and Durrell Nigeria Ltd, ₦235 million in Now-Now Alert, ₦400 million each in G-Circle Investment and Box Value Trading, and ₦900 million in Yuan Dong. Others include ₦1.2 billion to ₦2 billion in Dantata Success and Prof Coy, ₦2.5 billion in Famzi Intbiz, and ₦3.5 billion in Bara Finance.
The largest losses came from Galaxy Construction and Transportation, which took over ₦7 billion, and MMM Nigeria, which wiped away ₦18 billion. Other notorious schemes, including Nospecto Oil and Gas and several so-called “wonder banks,” swallowed more than ₦106 billion, while a single ongoing investigation involves a loss exceeding ₦174 billion.
Altogether, the SEC estimates that Nigerians have lost between ₦315 billion and ₦316 billion through these illegal operations.
The Commission cautioned investors to verify the registration status of any investment company on the SEC’s official website before committing their money. Under the Investments and Securities Act 2025, operators of illegal investment schemes now face fines of up to ₦20 million and imprisonment of up to 10 years.
The SEC emphasized that combating financial fraud requires both regulatory vigilance and investor responsibility. It called on Nigerians to resist the lure of quick-money ventures and instead support legitimate investment channels that drive real economic growth.
