A US federal court has fined Nigerian fintech entrepreneur, Dozy Mmobuosi, about US$250 million for failing to represent his case to charges leveled against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- •In December last year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Mmobuosi and his three companies: Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech Holdings, and Tingo International Holdings – of misrepresenting financial performance and engaging in fraudulent dealings.
- •According to the Financial Times, Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District of New York, also ordered that Mmobuosi should be barred from holding any directorship position in any public company.
- •Furman said that Mmobuosi’s refusal to defend himself from the commission’s findings automatically meant that him and his NASDAQ-listed companies were indeed liable.
Mmobuosi claimed that his fintech, Tengo Group, had over 9 million customers in Nigeria. The company also reported fictional revenues and assets, with a subsidiary – Tingo Mobile – reporting US$461.7 million in cash equivalents in Nigerian bank accounts for fiscal year 2022.
However, the SEC’s investigation showed that these claims were fabricated. Tingo Mobile’s actual balance was less than USD 50.00. Since 2019, according to the regulator, Tingo had falsified business reports to deceive investors that it was a thriving business with relevant operations.
US-based short-seller, Hindenburg Research, revealed mid-last year that the scale of the Nigerian fintech entrepreneur’s fraud was staggering. The report led to fall in Tengo Group and Agri-Fintech holdings stock prices. Mmobuosi, at the time, denied these allegations.
The businessman’s intention to buy Sheffield United, a football team in England, raised eyebrows. The ambitious bid was rejected but it was alleged that he wanted to purchase it using fraudulently obtained money.