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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered N216,402,565.05 from Swiss Golden Investment, an online investment company said to have defrauded over 7000 Nigerians to the tune of over N3 billion.
A statement by the EFCC said the recovery followed a petition the commission received from complainants who alleged they invested in the 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 EFCC said through intelligence, it arrested a Russian identified as Maxim Lobaty, 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.
Swiss Golden became popular the same time MMM was booming.
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Accordimg to the company’s website, participants are meant to buy gold, partner with the company as advertising agents while encouraging other prospective partners to also register to get a bonus in return.