Caution! SEC flags FinAfrica, Popoyo as Ponzi schemes

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned Nigerians against investing in FinAfrica Investment Limited and Poyoyo Investment Nigeria Limited (PILVEST).

SEC in a statement issued on Monday described the two firms as Ponzi scheme offering investment opportunities not approved by the regulators, saying persons investing their money in the schemes are doing so at their risk.

Poyoyo is offering different returns on investment via WhatsApp.

One of such deals is the promise of 20 per cent Return on Investment (ROI) on N100,000 investment for a period of one month and 360 percent ROI on N1 million invested for a period of one year.

The commission stressed that the ROI offered by Poyoyo did not add up and warned investing public against doing business with the unregistered company.

The statement read: “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria (SEC) has been drawn to the activities of an Illegal Operator (FINAFRICA INVESTMENT LIMITED). The company claimed to be an investment company that engages in Business Development in Commercial sectors of the economy and uses the funds in entities under Chimark Group.

“The Commission hereby notifies the investing public that neither FINAFRICA INVESTMENT LIMITED nor Chimark Group is registered by the SEC and the Investment Scheme promoted by these entities are also not authorized by the SEC.

“The attention of SEC has also been drawn to the electronic and WhatsApp messages being circulated to investors on behalf of Poyoyo Investment (PILVEST) Nigeria Limited.

“Besides the obvious errors in the returns calculations above, a preliminary investigation has revealed that Poyoyo Investment (PILVEST) Nigeria Limited is purely a Ponzi scheme as it is a non-sustainable business model that involves the collection of money from unsuspecting investors with a promise of high return without any underlying assets.

“The Commission hereby notifies the investing public that Poyoyo Investment (PILVEST) Nigeria Limited has no tangible business model; hence it is a PONZI SCHEME where returns are paid from other people’s invested sum. Also, its operation is not registered by the Commission.”