‘N13.8bn fraud’: EFCC arraigns ponzi scheme director

The Port Harcourt Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Precious Williams, the Director of Glossolalia Nigeria Ltd and Pelenged Nigeria Ltd, over her alleged involvement in a  fraud and money laundering scheme.

Williams was arraigned on Monday, June 16, before  S.I. Mark, Justice of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

She was docked on a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, advance fee fraud, obtaining money under false pretences, and laundering proceeds of unlawful activity.

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The charges stem from a large-scale investment scam allegedly orchestrated between 2019 and 2020, involving MBA Trading and Capital Investment Limited (MBA TCIL) and its promoters.

The EFCC alleges that Williams played a key role in the movement and concealment of illicit funds fraudulently obtained from thousands of unsuspecting investors under the guise of high-yield investment schemes.

“That you, Precious Williams of Glossolalia Nigeria Limited; Pelegend Nigeria Limited, Phenom 413 Events Limited (company representative at large), and Doxasterz Oil and Gas Limited, sometime between the 24th day of August, 2019 and 15th day of February, 2020, at Port Harcourt, took possession of the sum of Ten Billion Naira (N10,000,000,000.00), from Maxwell Chizi Odum (still at large) and MBA Trading and Capital Investment Limited, when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activities under the pretext that it was for investment purposes that would yield 10% to 15% interest per month,” one of the charges reads, according to the EFCC.

Another charge noted how Williams, through Pelegend Nigeria Ltd’s account with Polaris Bank, allegedly received N1.005 billion from MBA TCIL between December 2019 and November 2020—again under circumstances suggesting that the funds were proceeds of fraudulently obtained investments.

The EFCC maintains that the defendant ought to have known that the funds she received and processed were linked to the fraudulent activities of Maxwell Chizi Odum, founder of MBA TCIL, who is still at large, and that these funds were siphoned from over 3,000 victims across Nigeria.

She pleaded “not guilty” to all the charges.

Prosecution counsel E.K. Bakam consequently applied for a trial date and requested that she be remanded in custody pending the determination of her bail.

However, Tochukwu Maduka, her counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the court of an already filed bail application and urged the court to grant her bail to enable adequate preparation for trial.

Bakam opposed the bail application, arguing that it was premature since it was filed before the amended charges were served and before Williams’ formal arraignment.

He urged the court to insist on a fresh application.

Mark, in his ruling, ordered that Williams be remanded at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter until June 17, 2025, for hearing of the bail application.

According to the EFCC, the charges follow multiple petitions received from victims who claimed that Williams and MBA TCIL deceived the public into investing in a scheme that promised monthly returns of 10% to 15%.

The funds, said to have reached billions of naira, were allegedly diverted without fulfilling the promised returns or refunding investors’ capital.

The EFCC stated that investigations traced a significant portion of the laundered funds through corporate accounts controlled by Williams, with no corresponding records of legitimate investment activity.

Williams was arrested in April 2021 following mounting complaints from defrauded investors, many of whom said they were convinced to invest after seeing aggressive advertisements and endorsements across social media and offline marketing channels.