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By Emmanuel Adeleke
Some Nigerians in the diaspora have sent a petition to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, over a ponzi scheme involving Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr Aderemi Adeoye.
In the petition, the Njgerians accused Adeoye of running a ponzi scheme in which they were tricked into investing based on trust.
They claimed that the CP promised to invest the funds into real estate and stock market and share profits, but investors have not been receiving landed properties claimed to have been bought for them or receive appropriate briefing on their investments.
The petition, which was signed by 33 investors, said Adeoye solely operates the scheme without transparency, refusing to allow members of Board of Trustees and Management to participate in decision-making while also denying all members access to information about the businesses he claims to be running with the huge fund.
“Sometime around 2017, we became “friends” with Mr Adeoye on Facebook. At the time, he was serving in the African Union on secondment from Nigeria. He endeared himself to us and many others by projecting himself as a champion for victims of fraud and an upright man. Often, he claimed to have come to the aid of persons who had been defrauded on Facebook. He got many accolades from many of us for these claims. As time will show, these claims were deliberate and well-planned effort by him to win the trust of many of us on Facebook as a precursor to launching his grand scheme.
“Riding on his popularity, sometime in 2018, Adeoye approached a group of his friends on Facebook, including some of the undersigned, and informed us about the setting up of a cooperative investment club. His idea was that members of the cooperative club will pull funds together to invest in various products and platforms and profits will be shared based on the investments made by each member. He also suggested that members can get bargain prices by buying landed properties together in a large group.
“His suggestion was welcomed by many of us, especially those in the diaspora. It was seen as an opportunity to invest in Nigeria, and as it is fronted and led by a senior police officer, such investments can be done in an atmosphere of trust and confidence. Indeed, the trust level on Mr Adeoye was so high and the attraction of his suggestion was so strong that initial payments for investments were made directly to his personal bank account.
“Subsequently, the club was set up with the name of Alpha Trust Investment (ATIC). A bank account in the name of a company called ATIC Ventures and Business was created solely by Mr. Adeoye and payments were now routed through that bank account and other subsidiary accounts related to it set up by him. This registration brought the club under Corporate and Allied Matters Act law of the federation.
“From its inception in 2018, the club began to grow with members’ funds. By 2019, new members were added to the club. This swelled the total membership to more than 400. This trend of admitting new members each year continued. By 2023, there were more than 1,400 members in ATIC.
“Also, in May 2020, ATIC was formally registered with the Lagos State Government as a Cooperative Multipurpose Society. This also brought it under regulatory laws governing Cooperative Societies in Lagos and Nigeria.
“In accordance with the laws guiding Cooperatives, members expected that ATIC would set up structures in compliance with the laws and that Mr. Aderemi Adeoye would only stand in an advisory role and ensuring compliance as a serving public servant. To this end, a “Board of Trustees” and an “Executive Management Committee” were purportedly set up.
“However, it soon became clear that ATIC structures were only in name, as Mr Adeoye warehoused and controlled the club and ran it like a personal business. Demands for transparency and accountability were routinely ignored or shouted down. Club structures were rendered redundant, access to information was denied and threats were routinely used to keep members silent. To compound matters, investments made by members were shrouded in secrecy and opacity, with no clarity in sums invested, contracts entered with third parties, and decision-making processes that lead to investments. All these and more have led to the resignation of some of the members of the so-called “BOT” and our desire to seek your intervention to save us from monumental losses arising from one man’s devious plans.
“For investments, members are informed of opportunities such as stock investments, land purchase and cryptocurrency investments. These investment opportunities are offered to members routinely. In 2023, Mr Adeoye stated that ATIC has investments worth over N20 billion,” the petition read.
The petitioners sought IGP’s intervention to recover their funds from the scheme.