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How Billionaires Navigate Financial Scrutiny in the US
Published
1 year agoon
By
Eric
By Eric Elezuo
Many billionaires the world over, especially of Nigerian origin has cried out following one level of scrutiny they undergo in the hands of the authorities of the United States of America while they go about their legitimate businesses. These scrutinies sometimes are unwarranted, according to reports.
They noted that these investigations are mostly a consequence of businesses thriving and additional specks of success.
In the recent past, the United States authorities froze about $14.2 million in bank accounts linked to companies registered by the chairman of Air Peace Limited, Allen Onyema.
Onyema and his head of finance and administration, Ejiroghene Eghagha were supposedly indicted for alleged money laundering and bank fraud in the United States.
The men, however, strongly deny the allegations and said they looked forward to proving their innocence in court.
The charges were made public by the United States Department of Justice.
According to a full details of the Indictment charge as obtained by Premium Times, Onyema used several companies he set up in the U.S. to launder funds and commit bank fraud through issuance of counterfeit letters of credit.
Some of the companies’ bank accounts in the U.S. and Canada were frozen with their substantial balances as part of the investigation, court documents showed.
The documents showed that $4,017,852.51 was seized from JP Morgan Chase Bank account number ending in 5512 held in the name of Springfield Aviation Company, LLC.
Another $4,593,842.05 held in Bank of Montreal with account number ending 7523 in the name of Springfield Aviation Inc. was also seized.
American government also traced and seized $5,634,842.04 held in Bank of Montreal with account number ending in 515 in the name of Bluestream Aero Services, Inc.
American law enforcement authorities indicated in the charge document that efforts had commenced to secure final forfeitures of the funds.
In a statement afterwards, Onyema maintained that he was innocent, suggesting that the US authorities were chasing an offence where there’s none
He said: “As the press statement clearly stated, these are indictment that only contains charges.
“I am innocent of all charges and the US government will find no dirt on me because I have never conducted business with any illegalities.
“Be rest assured that I also have my lawyers on this and these mere allegations will be refuted. I never laundered money in my life, neither have I committed bank fraud anywhere in the world. Every Kobo I transferred to the US for aircraft purchase went through the Central Bank of Nigeria LC regime and all were used for the same purpose.
“The American companies that received the funds are still in business. I never took a penny from any US bank or Nigerian bank. I am willing to defend my innocence in the US courts.”
His defence made one wonder where the authorities in America, especially the Department of Justice, got their facts from. But the American Federal Bureau of Investigation has insisted that its Investigations are thorough, and reveals only the facts.
Another Nigerian, who has come under severe scrutiny by the American authorities, is the Founder, Tingo Group, Dozy Mmobuosi.
Tingo is an Agri-Fintech company reputed in the fields of Agriculture, real estate and education.
Insider source informed The Boss that as the company gained prominence, especially with the Founder’s expressed desire to purchase one of the premier league club sides, Sheffield United, scrutiny became the order of the day, with the Hunderberg first laying a claim, and then, more recently, the US authorities.
A report noted a certain “Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging ODOGWU BANYE MMOBUOSI, a/k/a “Dozy Mmobuosi,” with securities fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and conspiracy charges.
The announcement also accused the Tingo Founder of being at large.
According to the US Attorney, “Dozy Mmobuosi allegedly orchestrated a massive scheme to inflate Tingo Group’s financial statements and make it appear as though the cellular and agriculture companies he founded were profitable and cash rich companies when, in fact, they were not. With this Indictment, Mmobuosi’s alleged deceitful scheme comes to an end.”
Additionally, the FBI Assistant Director in Charge, said: “Mmobuosi’s alleged fraud is an unseemly display of greed and corruption of our financial markets. Securities schemes like this can be devastating for victim investors. That’s why the FBI is committed to bringing financial fraud to light and perpetrators like Mmobuosi to justice.”
The US however, observed that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
As the introductory phrase signifies, “the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.”
In his response, the 45 year old business man said, “They claim we had just $50 at a time, how have we sustained staff and projects? I will stand by what I have said before. I will cooperate with investigators, and we shall get to the root of this. We always knew that we needed to improve our internal controls and governance. And had started working on all of that since the merger started. Just to be very clear again, this merger is still not complete. And I hope this isn’t a conspiracy to take the business away from us or to stop the merger. I want to point out that those who heard Darren Mercer talk about the Tingo story bought into it and those who heard me speak passionately must have also loved the story. I have never gone on any road show to raise capital anywhere as people claim in false statements. I challenge anyone anywhere in the world who says that I Dozy Mmobuosi raised money for Tingo, let that person speak publicly with proof. I will address all allegations through the legal system across various jurisdictions.”
He further added, “Our works speak for us, speak with the All Farmers Association of Nigeria, and visit our offices. I also want to use this medium to let the world know that the food processing facility being built is not a Tingo project. It has been my ambition to build a food processing facility where foods from farms across Africa can be processed and value added. This project is being built on my family land and I am building with my resources, the banks I approached through my agents declined support, so I decided to build without support. You are invited to see how real it is.”
Mmobuosi insists on his innocence, concluding that he is now busy fighting back and writing a book that tells his side of the story. He also urged his supporters to keep fighting.
It is also worthy of note that late Nigerian business man, Harry Akande, better known as Chicago Boss, also faced investigations by the U.S authorities during his hay days. Akande died in 2020 at the age of 77.
However, more fact have emerged that investigations of billionaires by US authorities are not limited to Nigerians alone. It is on record that the likes of one time world’s richest man, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, was also investigated.
Also, Founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, who runs the conglomerate, Meta, was also a victim of US investigation.
According to a report by Reuters, Facebook confirmed that Zuckerberg was interviewed at a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigative hearing as part of the government’s antitrust probe into the social media company.
The social media stated thus: “We are committed to cooperating with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s inquiry and answering the questions the agency may have.”
The FTC told Facebook in June 2019 it was probing whether the company has engaged in unlawful monopolistic practices.
Facebook faced similar probes by the Justice Department and by state attorneys general and has said the investigations are looking at prior acquisitions and business practices involving “social networking or social media services, digital advertising, and/or mobile or online applications.”
While Nigerian billionaires are not aversed to every financial or security agency from carrying out their legitimate duties through scrutinizing the legitimacy of their businesses, they have insisted that due diligence is required before allegations are made. They also called on the government of Nigeria to be more protective of its citizens so that international embarrassment of Nigerians will brought to the barest minimum, and consequently eliminated.
From the accusations leveled against the likes of Onyema and Mmobuosi, most businesses and transactions are brought to abrupt halt, affecting families and livelihoods in the bargain.
However, the men have continued to navigate through the muddy waters of the scrutiny, promising to keep pushing until their innocence is established.
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Communal Clashes: Adeleke Threatens Royal Fathers with Dethronement
Published
4 days agoon
March 31, 2025By
Eric
Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has threatened stern state action against traditional rulers of Ifon, Erin Osun and Ilobu communities if they fail to sustain current peace, and de-escalate the crisis in their communities.
The Governor issued the warning against the backdrop of online reports that some faceless groups across the conflict areas are planning another round of attacks.
“In the midst of sallah celebrations, I got reports of some people planning another round of conflict around Ifon, Ilobu and Erin Osun towns. The security agencies have tightened surveillance to ensure no attacks take place.
“The security agencies are also speeding up the interrogation of key chieftains and actors in the conflict. I will remind top leaders of the towns that the peace undertaking they are signing are not for joke. They will be held accountable. There will be accountability before the law.
“The curfew we relaxed was on humanitarian grounds. As a compassionate government, we know many innocent people are suffering because of the evil agenda of a few elements across the conflict areas. Any attempt to exploit the adjustment of the curfew for renewed violence will be met with full re-imposition of the 24-hour curfew.
“Additionally, I will remove from office, any traditional ruler where violence recurs. This card is on the table. Royal fathers of each town must call their subjects to order. I will wield the big stick. Enough is enough”, the Governor was quoted as saying in the statement.
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Featured
Celebrating a Hero of June 12, Humphrey Nwosu
Published
4 days agoon
March 31, 2025By
Eric
“Professor Humphrey Nwosu laid a landmark foundation for the present independent National Electoral Commission today and that Professor Humphrey Mwosu passed away on the 20th of October 2024, aged 83 years old.
“Despite his contributions, Professor Humphrey Mwosu was seemingly neglected until his death, which highlights complaints of unfair treatment of notable public servants,” he added.
In support of the motion, Senator Osita Ngwu that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Among the several senators, who opposed the immortalisation motion, with excuses of Nwosu’s lacking courage to announce final results, were Senator Jimoh Ibrahim from Ondo State, who stated categorically that “nothing should be named after him”, Senator Cyril Fasuyi, who argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results, saying “As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him”, Senator Sunday Karimi, who criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out; Senator Afolabi Salisu, who said that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Senator Adeola Olamilekun, who claimed he lost his brother in the aftermath.
But Nigerians have argued in favour of the immortalisation of the former chief electoral officer, admonishing that he did his job very well. Most of them reasoned that if the likes of Babagana Kingibe, the running mate to Abiola, who ditched the struggle to join the government of General Sani Abacha, could be honoured with a GCON honours, the second highest in the land, how much more the proponent of the most viable option to voting, Option A4.
In his accessment, celebrated journalist and Chairman of Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, said Nwosu performed his duty to the very best of his abilities, and very well. The well traveled journalist wondered on what pedestal the opposing senators stand to deny him honours.
Also lending his voice to the immortalisation of Prof Nwosu, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, said all honours Abiola is enjoying today is credited to Nwosu’s honesty.
“It is very important that Prof. Humphrey Nwosu should be recognized, the genesis of having a free and fair or the foundation of having a free and fair June 12, 1993 elections was through having a sincere NEC chairman like Humphrey Nwosu.
“Humphrey Nwosu conducted free and fair election that gave Aare MKO Abiola the mandate that the Nigerian government then did not install him as president.
“And the respect and the glory that Aare MKO Abiola is having today is as a result of the honesty displayed by the then NEC chairman and the products that worked with him that made it happen,” he said.
HUMPHREY NWOSU AND JUNE 12 DEBACLE
The CNPP lamented the continued exclusion of Prof. Nwosu from the list of heroes celebrated on Democracy Day, despite his significant contribution to the nation’s democracy through the introduction of the Option A4 voting system.
“It is time to transcend petty biases and to embrace the spirit of inclusivity that Professor Nwosu’s legacy warrants,” the association of all registered political parties noted.
An online platform, Businessday.ng once captured Prof Nwosu’s contribution as follows:
In the middle of the night of June 10, 1993, an Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Bassey Ikpeme, in breach of the relevant decree, ordered the electoral body to put on hold the presidential election that was some 36 hours away from happening.
The plaintiff in the case was an unregistered body known as the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) , which consisted of a group of politicians generally believed to have government backing. Nwosu took the risk of his life and found his way in the morning uninvited to a meeting of the MILITARY COUNCIL, ASO VILLA, to explain the grave consequences of Ikpeme’s indiscreet pronouncement. After intimidation and harassment of Prof and other deliberations at the uninvited meeting, it was agreed that NEC could discount Ikpeme’s order and continue with its arrangements and preparations for the elections.
At the end of voting, when it became clear from the majority of the results already collated from the states that the candidate of the then Social Democratic Party (SDP) Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola could not be stopped from winning the contest, the then Chief Judge of Abuja, Justice Dahiru Saleh ordered NEC to halt the process. Again, Nwosu stormed the Aso Villa, but this time, he found that the government had withdrawn their support.
The then Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Clement Akpamgbo, who gave Nwosu legal backing earlier, did not only ditch him but also ensured that a bench warrant to arrest Nwosu issued by the Chief Judge of Abuja was duly served. From then, Nwosu became labelled as the problem, while his Electoral Commission was formally suspended forthwith. The only other option left to Nwosu was to seek judicial cover from the Court of Appeal, Kaduna Division, headed by Justice Achike. With no one else behind Nwosu except the Commission’s vibrant Director of Legal Services, Bukhari Bello, with Chief Tony Ojukwu SAN, OFR, one time Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission. NEC drew attention to an earlier judgment by a higher court in which Oguntade JCA as he then was, established two main points.
The first was that where a court makes an order in a case where it lacked jurisdiction, the order was null and void; and second, that it was unnecessary to go on appeal in such circumstance.
This suggested that Nwosu had no business obeying the erroneous decisions of the lower courts. Interestingly, NEC produced in Court the COMPLETE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION, which he had been stopped from announcing and which confirmed the victory of MKO Abiola. The real problem was that some ambitious military fellows aided by a set of compromised politicians wanted to prolong military rule. At this point, the government, sensing that it might lose the case, decided to annul the election a few hours before the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Prof Nwosu is an apostle of democracy, and of June 12, 1993 more especially, and deserves to be honoured and celebrated.
In his tribute at the burial of Prof Nwosu, President Tinubu, though acknowledged that the deceased upheld democratic principles, he was however, silent on any form of honour for the June 12 chief electoral officer. He noted:
“As we mourn the death of Prof Humphrey Nwosu, we are invited to celebrate him for his profound accomplishments and personal fulfilments as a public administrator, political scientist, and academics icon. We are urged to reflect on his democratic ideals and his sense of commitment to a democratic Nigeria. These are the hallmarks of his life and times that will be cherished beyond this generation,” Tinubu said, through his representative, the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi.
As the south east governors prepare to meet and present their proposition of honoring Nwosu before President Tinubu, Nigerians have said that whatever the situation, Nwosu remains and etched in the hearts and minds of the real heroes of democracy and June 12; the average Nigerians, as democratic force to reckon with, and a man without whose name the story and history of the freest and fairest election in Nigeria cannot be written.
According to Yusuf John Imam, who wrote from Abuja, in an article titled Senate’s failure to immortalize Humphrey Nwosu, disservice to democracy, “if the Senate cannot honour Nwosu, then every state in the Southeast should take it upon themselves to immortalize their son. Build monuments, name streets, and establish scholarships in his name. Push his narrative and celebrate his legacy. The Southeast must rise to the occasion and ensure that their son’s legacy is preserved for generations to come.”
The bottom-line remains that Professor Humphrey Nwosu is a hero of June 12, and deserve to be honoured, immortalised and celebrated.
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Milk of Human Kindness: Glo Foundation Spreads ‘Food Drive’ Joy to More Communities
Published
5 days agoon
March 30, 2025By
Eric
Glo Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of Globacom, on Saturday extended its Food Drive Initiative “Giving Back Together” to more communities as thousands of families in Ikota, Ajah, Lagos, received packages of food and household items from the team.
Two Saturdays ago, the foundation was in Bariga where it shared food and other household items to thousands of other vulnerable members of the community.
In a similar vein, Glo Foundation officials and the project partners, the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, last Saturday presented packages containing Rice, Garri, Spaghetti, noodles, tomato paste, tooth brushes, sardines, salt, vegetable oil, bread and seasoning cubes to thousands of beneficiaries, the majority of whom were women, at a ceremony held within the Ikota neighborhood.
Thousands of beneficiaries had assembled at the New Generation Baptist School in Ikota as early as 7 a.m. to await the start of the distribution.
Before the gifts were distributed, Globacom’s Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Jumobi Mofe-Damijo, welcomed the recipients and reaffirmed the company’s dedication to aiding the underprivileged in the society. She pointed out that helping the most disadvantaged members of society nationwide was one of the Foundation’s goals.
“Giving brings joy and smiles to the faces of the beneficiaries as we have seen here today. It also makes us happy that we are able to do something to touch the lives of others in a highly interdependent world,” she noted, adding that the Foundation was working on other projects that would impact various segments across the country.
At the occasion, the beneficiaries, who were mostly women, expressed their happiness and gratitude to Globacom by singing and dancing. Some of them who expressed their opinions were happy that they were able to benefit from the gesture and prayed that Globacom would continue to thrive.
The recipients were ecstatic and unable to control their excitement. After getting their food gifts, a few of them spoke up and thanked and prayed for Globacom for showing their community such love and concern.
Christina Itoro, an Akwa Ibom indigene, who operates a POS business within the community, expressed happiness at the content of the package. “When I opened the carton and saw the content, I was so excited. May God bless the company and the staff,” she said.
For Godwin Mary, who sells Kunu drink, Globacom has come to her aid at a time that her business was crumbling. The native of Benue State thanked Globacom for remembering her and other women in the Ikate neighborhood.
On her part, Sarah Oliseh, who is a housewife, said: “I am very happy and so excited getting this from Globacom. It will definitely go a long way to help me and my family”.
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