Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, a Ponzi scheme known simply as MMM, on Friday re-opened for business after a one-month break, but investors in the scheme have remained stranded as they still cannot access their funds.
MMM had announced the resumption on its Twitter handle yesterday, saying it was “now open” even though it had initially promised to reopen today, Saturday, January 14.
In the message, the scheme’s founder, Sergey Mavrodi, said because of the likely deluge of requests from participants, payments would be gradual and have limits.
He also said it would prioritize payments to participants with small amounts, which were not specified, and that big investors would have to wait longer.
“Please, be prepared to wait for a couple of days. We are certain things will then calm down, and the system operation will return to normal.
“We’re the ones setting limits, so it’s completely under our control, and we are not expecting any emergencies in principle. Have no fear and go on about your business as usual.
“As the system is socially oriented, we will make paybacks to the poor and the economically disadvantaged in the first place; it means to the members with small PH (Provide Help) amounts. The richer can wait. Moreover, we’ve warned you repeatedly to only provide help with amounts that are not critical for you.”
With about three million Nigerians involved in the scheme and huge investments at stake, the freezing of the MMM’s accounts a month ago had sparked fears that the ponzi scheme had crashed.
Meanwhile, some investors have expressed their frustrations as they might have to wait much longer to recover their much needed money from the scheme.
Some of the participants said their funds that were tied down in MMM were meant for various uses including purchase of goods, payment of tuition, debts, rent and others.
The fears and frustrations are further heightened by MMM’s declaration that it would introduce bitcoins as the new mode of payment ahead of its comeback, which some participants of the scheme have described as confusing.
For example, Frank Bunna who deals in computer accessories at Olugbede market in Idimu, Lagos, said he was stranded as he had invested all the money for his goods in MMM.
The Igbo trader said his future was dashed as he expressed disappointment that he would not be able to get his money back today (Saturday).
He said, “This is my life! How will I live? I invested N2m! Look at my shop, it is totally empty. I invested the whole money for my business on this MMM; I even borrowed N300,000 that I added to it. I spent six days in the hospital as soon as I heard the account was frozen. I am hypertensive so my blood pressure shot up when I heard the news. To hear that I would not be paid immediately means that I am dead.”
Another Lagos resident simply identified as Korede, who invested over N500,000 in the scheme, said, “There is going to be crisis in my home. I borrowed my wife’s N300,000 to invest in the scheme. I didn’t tell her, but I guess she’s suspicious now.
“I promised to return the money December ending, but couldn’t. That was when MMM froze our accounts. It appears that there is going to be some delay before I can get the money. I just hope my wife will forgive me in case this thing fails. To be sincere, I am afraid.”
An undergraduate student of the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, who identified himself as Chiboy because he did not want his parents to know he invested his tuition and money meant for his dissertation in MMM, said he had been left stranded since December 2016, when MMM was suspended and desperately needed his money back.
“I had thought that I would be able to get my money back immediately MMM reopened but from what I heard, it would not be possible. My mother will kill me. I don’t even know what to do,” he said.
A travel agent in Lagos, who identified himself as Mr. Oduntan, lamented that he has been going through difficulty after investing N900,000 meant for paying his rent in MMM with the hope that he would get about N1.2m in return.
Oduntan said he was desperate to recover his funds as his landlord has been on his neck since then.
A teacher in a private secondary school in Egbeda, Lagos, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the bursar of the school had invested N1.5m belonging to the institution in the scheme before the scheme was suspended last month.
According to the teacher, when the bursar could not provide the money, he was sacked by the school management and asked to sign an undertaking to return the money when MMM reopened on Saturday, January 14.
“The bursar has since been arrested and in his undertaking, he had said he would get the money back immediately MMM resumed operations. But with this development, it will take some time before he can get paid, and that is if he gets paid at all,” the teacher said.
In Oyo State, an estate agent, Mr. Funso Ogungbade, said he had invested the sum of N3.5m, part of which was from the rents he had collected from tenants on behalf of some landlords, in MMM. “My target was that by Saturday, everything would be sorted out but as it is now, I cannot get the money back soon. MMM is saying that it will start by paying the people with small funds and that it will also put a peg on how much we can get,” he said.
A student at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, simply identified as Wole, said he had invested N50,000 into the scheme a week before it froze all accounts.
Another MMM investor, who simply identified himself as Olayinka, said, “I’m desperate to recover my money. All my investment has gone into it,” he added.
Olayinka, who lost his job over a year ago, said he had invested N700,000 that was paid to him as entitlement in MMM, given how profitable the scheme was before it collapsed.
He said, “I have been counting down since the day MMM announced the closure. Everything I had went into it so I am seriously stranded.”