Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, a Ponzi scheme known simply as MMM, on Friday opened for business after one month of 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, 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 prioritise 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 told Saturday PUNCH that 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, who was looking dejected when our correspondent visited the market, 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 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 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.

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 had been on his neck since then.

Also, a banker in a new generation bank in Ikeja, Lagos, told one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity that three of her colleagues were sacked for introducing some customers to MMM.

According to the banker, his colleagues were sacked after the aggrieved customers officially complained to the bank manager that they were stranded because they had invested in MMM, which was introduced to them by some employees of the bank.

The source said, “The customers said they needed their money back. They blamed some of my colleagues for introducing them to MMM and the bank had to sack them.

“One of the customers complained that the money he had put in MMM was meant to roof his house and that his planned relocation to the house has had to be delayed because of that. Another one said the money he had invested in MMM was meant to pay his debts while another said the money was meant for his wife’s business.”

Another banker working in a commercial bank in Akute, Ogun State, also said one of her colleagues was sacked for investing N2m he had loaned from the bank in MMM and was unable to pay back the loan.

A barbing salon operator in Ilorin, Kwara State, Adejare Lawal, who spoke with one of our correspondents on Thursday, said he had invested money belonging to some of his colleagues, which was from their contributory scheme, in the investment.

According to him, he invested around N350, 000 in November, hoping to get a profit of at least N80, 000 by the second week of December before accounts were frozen.

“This is the biggest risk I have taken in my life and at the moment all I can think about is how to get the money back. I was the one coordinating the barbers’ association’s contribution in my area and I invested it in MMM.”

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.”

Another MMM investor, Miss Janet (surname withheld), said, “I lied to my brother to lend me money to pursue my Master’s programme. I’ve not been working for some time, and he was the one who advised me to go for a postgraduate degree. So, when I asked for money, he gave me N150, 000.

“With the way it was booming, I invested my N600, 000 in it, including the money I had saved from my previous workplace. So, I’m in a fix as I’m talking to you.”

Our students invested school fees in MMM –VC

On January 11, 2017, the Vice-Chancellor of Osun State University, Prof. Labode Popoola, told journalists that the school’s authorities would publish in national newspapers names of students who owe tuition, claiming that some of them had invested the money in the MMM scheme.

Noting that the affected students had owed since their enrolment, Popoola said it had come to the knowledge of the school that most of them were enrolled in MMM.

He disclosed that the cumulative debt being owed the school by the students was N2bn.

He said, “We are aware that parents of most defaulting students had given them their school fees and it was revealed that the students had diverted the monies into the MMM scheme.”

Confusion mounts over bitcoin

Findings by Saturday PUNCH showed that more Nigerians have been searching for information about bitcoin on the popular search engine- Google.

For instance, between Thursday and Friday, search for “where to buy bitcoin in Nigeria” on Google Nigeria rose by 200 per cent, according to Google Trends.

Search for “MMM bitcoin” rose by 150 per cent; “What is bitcoin all about?” rose by 160 per cent; while “meaning of bitcoin” rose by 60 per cent.

One of the participants who spoke with Saturday PUNCH, Bunna, said he had no idea of what bitcoin meant and that the more he asked questions about it, the more confused he got.

“I don’t know what bitcoin means. Don’t even bother explaining how it works to me because many people have tried and they left me more confused,” he said.

“Once I get paid, I don’t even want to be part of any MMM again. God knows that nothing in this world will make me do this nonsense again. While other people were celebrating Christmas, I was in the hospital. Even now, I have yet to recover, so why do you think I would want to do this kind of thing again?”

Wole, a LAUTECH student, said, “Another problem now is the introduction of bitcoin to the platform. I have yet to fully understand how it operates. I will read more about it so as to know how to go about withdrawing my money. I just hope the system wouldn’t crash.”

Speaking about the bitcoin option recently introduced, Janet said, “Whether bitcoin or no bitcoin, I want my money, possibly today (Friday).”

Chiboy said he had only heard of bitcoins and was not interested in “such things.”

Olayinka said, “They wouldn’t dare introduce bitcoin at this time. But if they do, we are at their mercy. I just want my money back

http://punchng.com/investors-stranded-mmm-reopens/

MMM is back again and Nigeria's countless problems are back? Can't we have peace of mind without MMM ringing in one corner or the other? In saner climes, the government has a duty to ensure that its citizens physiological needs and safety needs are met, and also has a duty to help its citizens meet their love, belonging, and esteem needs. When this is done, you barely hear people complaining about one Ponzi scheme or the other as many people painted MMM to be.

In addition, the real problem here is not MMM but the Nigerian Government. They have failed the citizenry and make them look average compared to what human standards should look like. When a nation through the office of its leadership can no longer perform its basic responsibility of provision of security and development, and has no effect control over its territory and border, this nation is termed a FAILED STATE. What do the citizen do in return? The government unknowingly to them have introduce chaos into the system! MMM is just a little problem and insignificant at the moment. Right now, there are more than 30 active PONZI schemes, though the figure will triple before the end of the year!

Conclusively, MMM is really a case of "Shooting the messenger". MMM is not the problem, the Nigerian Government is!

every one is just hopeful that MMM will resurrect and shame the haters. OK let's see. how many of us are willing to make it work? the last time we did this it showed people were willing to provide help. let's see if the people are still willing to provide help when matched or not.

if you are matched to pay someone on Monday will you pay the person? if you will pay click like, if you won't click share.

let's be honest please

Once I get paid, I don’t even want to be part of any MMM again. God knows that nothing in this world will make me do this nonsense again. While other people were celebrating Christmas, I was in the hospital. Even now, I have yet to recover, so why do you think I would want to do this kind of thing again?

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.”

Shout Out to these greedy ones! Standing Ovation for Y'all that used ur life savings because of greed! MMM clearly told u to PH with ur spare money, you were told about d risks so why the rants? Abeg Y'all should have several seats in d gutter. MMM is finally back with conditions, you still have to wait for a while!

And for those that laughed and mocked MMM participants, the joke is on u! I don't see them flooding MMM post with their weak senseless propaganda! No more stories and history of Ponzi! No more prophetic messages about MMM! The Federal Government and their paid online propagandists are mute! The Comedians are hiding! The Faceless Nairalanders that only know how to insult are hiding their faces in shame! All these Ominiknowest has gone into Exile.

Hh

People have long forgotten that mmm is not a bank, they don't have a central account. Pls allow them to do their work. Mmm have never lied to us, they said they will resume January and pessimist said mba mmm has finally gone. mmm kept to their promise, they bounced back and now the same bad beles are changing their tactics again. To d bad beles, keep on wailing while mmm members keep smiling to d bank. The inscription is clear on mmm page. PARTICIPATE ONLY WITH SPARE MONEY. all these people saying they have used their life savings and now crying foul to the media are the real mmm enemies. Mmm is still alive and has come to stay.

How many MMM topics on front page?
Nairaland post more of MMM than even the MMM website.

Again

I predicted this last year self. I knew the people that will get their funds back are the small amount, they called 'poor' people.

If you have money in MMM in excess of 300k, I doubt if you will get it back. Biko! Make them do match me with someone to pay me my 50k. I no fit wait again.

I can now PH & GH.. praise master jesus

When they went on vacation, so many you were making jest of mmmites. You kept telling us that they are gone, and wil never return. Now the holiday is over, & mmm is back and better. Instead of you idiots to keep quiet & hide your face, you are still talking thrash with you gutter mouth.

Stop giving bad signals to the public about the scheme.
We are the people involved, we know the rules, and how things are done in the scheme. Mmm is back, you losers should deal with it.

Bad belle people


Make una leave mmm alone oo

No be Una papa money

MMM is back

MMM is here to stay.

Many people have PHed, many People have GHed, things needs to be properly arranged.

Even if mmm will die, it doesn't seem like now.

Long live mmm.

lol what a strategies

Govt looking for a way to bad mouth MMM, haters gonna hate.. Long live MMM

Who don read? Explain please.

I am not a participant of mmm. But the rate at which anti-mmm topics keep flooding the front page of nairaland is quite alarming. Pls leave mmm alone , all the harassment is becoming stall.

MoreWahala:
How many MMM topics on front page?
Nairaland post more of MMM than even the MMM website.

They want to kill mmm but will fail!

booker t

This mmm saga has tought me a great lesson that Nigerians we don't love ourselves . the people that took this mmm matter for head as if as it is by force to do mmm.

A very useless post

Fake testimony...

Wetin lah .. MMM MMM MMM
Haba!

VC shut up, it shows you guys have been teaching your students nothing and they are all dumbheads, if not why will they invest their school fees into a scheme that clearly states Use only your SPARE money
Can't they read or do they have comprehension problem