House of Representatives orders arrest of MMM promoters in Nigeria

The House of Representatives has called on law enforcement agencies to arrest promoters of a “questionable” investment scheme popularly known as ‘MMM.’ The House’ decision followed a motion of urgent national importance raised by Akinlade Fijabi from Oyo State, who described MMM as a ‘Rob Peter to Pay Paul Scheme’. The lawmaker said the operators of the questionable scheme are exploiting the economic situation of Nigerians that had left them desperate for income through any means without considering the implications. Another lawmaker from Ondo State, Bode Ayorinde, said lawmakers should be concerned because they will likely be inundated with petitions if the scheme goes burst. “When the business goes burst, it is the same House that people will flood with petitions,” Mr. Ayorinde said. On his part, Hon. Dennis Amadi from Enugu state said: “The House will not wait until these crooks defraud Nigerians of billions of naira or until people start committing suicide,” Mr. Amadi said. The MMM is a deposit money scheme that promises a 30 per cent interest on investment per month. The scheme has in the last few months gained popularity amongst Nigerians of all classes but critics maintain that the business is a Ponzi scheme because its operators use money from old investors to pay new ones. The scheme is not registered with the CBN nor the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, neither is it registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. The CBN and other regulatory authorities had earlier warned Nigerians against participating in the scheme. Speaker Yakubu Dogara ruled that the motion was adopted. He urged the House committees on banking and currency and financial crimes to investigate the scheme and report back to House within four weeks.