After 4 Years, EFCC Arraigns Farm360, Another Ponzi Operator For N80 Million Fraud

• The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is committed to recovering investors' funds from the many firms posing as legitimate businesses
• In a recent development, the commission has arraigned two firms that collected N80 million from investors between 2021 and 2022
• The facts of the case have emerged, revealing that they did not secure the required approvals from regulators for their kind of business

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Nigeria has seen many companies come up and request investors’ funds only to later abscond with it, and this has been a major source of worry for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Lagos Zonal Directorate of the EFCC, Okotie-Eboh, Ikoyi, Lagos, arraigned two companies before Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday, June 16, 2025.

The two companies, FARM360 Limited and MCBHADMOS Trans- Atlantic, allegedly operated collective investment schemes without proper licensing from any regulator.

They were arraigned on a 5-count charge bordering on operating collective investment schemes without a licence either by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), or the SEC.

The EFCC shared this via an update on its verified X (formerly Twitter) account.

Recall that Farm360 was one of the 58 Ponzi schemes listed by the EFCC in a warning to Nigerians.

How Farm360, MCBHADMOS absconded with investors' funds

According to the case, Farm360 Limited and MCBHADMOS Trans-Atlantic collected about N80 million from several investors, with the claim of returning it to them with interest upon maturity.

They, however, defaulted and did not return the funds to investors.

One of the charges stated that the two companies carried out their operations between 2021 and 2022 without requisite licensing from the regulators, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 57 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 and punishable under Sections 57(5) of the same Act.”

The company entered a “not guilty” plea to the charges, and prosecution counsel, Abdulhamid .L.Tukur, called on Nnadikwu Izuchukwu Collins, an investigator with the EFCC, to review the facts of the case.

The facts of the case emerge

According to the investigator, EFCC received a petition on October 21, 2022, from a group of investors.

They claimed that Farm360 Limited and MCBHADMOS Trans- Atlantic claimed to be involved in agricultural business and forex trading, respectively, and lured them with mouthwatering promises of returns on their investments.

The investors claimed that they invested a total of N93 million in the companies.

Mr. Collins further told the court that investigation letters were sent to the regulators – the SEC, CBN, and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) – and responses from all three confirmed that the companies were not licensed to deal in investments or forex trading business in Nigeria.

Investigation letters were also sent to Fidelity Bank, and the response again confirmed that about N80 million obtained from investors was diverted for personal use.

He added:

“The directors of the companies are all at large and efforts are being made to apprehend them.”

The prosecution tendered in evidence the bank statement from Fidelity Bank, petitions received by the EFCC from the group of investors, and letters to the CAC, CBN, and SEC, along with their responses.

Justice Dipeolu admitted and marked them as exhibits, and the case was adjourned until July 8, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.

In another ongoing court case, the EFCC is also prosecuting a Port Harcourt-based oil magnate for a N750 million fraud against Polaris Bank.

EFCC updates wanted list

In related news, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has released the names of two more suspects allegedly involved in the N1.3 trillion Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX) scam.

This brings the total number of suspects to eight, bolstering the commission’s efforts to apprehend the criminals.

Note that a Federal High Court in Abuja also gave the EFCC permission to arrest and detain six suspects connected to the investigations into the CBEX scam.

Source: Legit.ng