The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Port Harcourt Zonal Command, on Monday arraigned one Precious Williams, a director of Glossolalia Nigeria Ltd and Pelegend Nigeria Ltd, over her alleged involvement in a N13.8 billion Ponzi scheme.
Williams was brought before Justice S.I. Mark of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence, advance fee fraud, and money laundering.
The EFCC accused Williams of being a key player in an elaborate investment scam allegedly perpetrated between 2019 and 2020 by MBA Trading and Capital Investment Limited (MBA TCIL), a firm founded by the now-fugitive Maxwell Chizi Odum.
According to the anti-graft agency, Williams allegedly facilitated the movement and concealment of billions of naira sourced from thousands of unsuspecting Nigerians who were lured with promises of monthly investment returns ranging from 10 to 15 per cent.
One of the charges read in court stated: “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.”
Another charge alleged that Williams, through a Pelegend Nigeria Ltd account domiciled at Polaris Bank, received a further N1.005 billion from MBA TCIL between December 2019 and November 2020, under similar suspicious circumstances.
The EFCC said its investigation revealed that over 3,000 victims across Nigeria were defrauded, with Williams allegedly using multiple corporate accounts to launder the illicit proceeds without traceable legitimate investment activity.
Williams, who was arrested in April 2021 following a deluge of petitions from defrauded investors, pleaded not guilty to all charges when they were read to her.
Counsel to the prosecution, E.K. Bakam, urged the court to fix a trial date and requested that the defendant be remanded in correctional custody pending the determination of her bail application.
However, defence counsel Tochukwu Maduka (SAN) informed the court that a bail application had already been filed. He prayed the court to grant her bail to enable her prepare adequately for trial.
Bakam opposed the application, arguing that it was filed prematurely, before the amended charges were formally served and before the defendant’s arraignment. He urged the court to demand a fresh application.
In his ruling, Justice Mark ordered that Williams be remanded at the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter till June 17, 2025, for hearing of the bail application.
The EFCC disclosed that the case follows extensive investigations into public complaints and multiple petitions from victims who alleged that the defendants misled them with aggressive marketing campaigns, both online and offline, into investing in a non-existent scheme that failed to deliver either returns or refunds.
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