E-Financial
Nigerians Ignore EFCC Warnings, Invest Billions in MMM
Fallen on difficult times amid the country’s first recession in decades, millions of Nigerians have turned to Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), a Ponzi scheme with roots in Russia, which promises unreasonably high returns on investments, according to Quartz.
Originally set up in the late 1980s by Sergei Mavrodi, a Russian ex-convict, the scheme has become popular in Nigeria where it has operated for a year.
According to the Nigerian website, MMM is described as a “mutual aid fund where ordinary people help each other.”
Essentially, registered participants pledge and donate money to help other participants who request it and expect them to return the favour at a later date.
As a catch, the scheme promises 30% monthly returns for participants who donate.
Put another way, a participant who donates money is eligible to request for the amount donated plus 30% interest after a month. That request is then fulfilled by another participant.
Lagos-based economist, Tunji Andrews, likens it to a game of musical chairs. “Mr. A lends help to Mr. B, hoping that Mr. C pays him his own help before it crashes,” Andrews tell Quartz. “Now, knowing that it eventually will, every single payout, is paid for by those who get caught in, when the music stops.”
It seems a fairly obvious ruse. The website even states a warning: “There are no guarantees and promises! Neither explicit nor implicit,” it reads.
“And in general, you can lose all your money.” But that hasn’t stopped the 2.4 million Nigerians who are registered from participating.
For much of the past year, Nigeria has been stuck in a rot. Its economy, once regarded as one of the world’s fastest growing, is mired in a recession that shows no signs of abating.
IMF forecasts the economy to contract by -1.7% this year. Inflation has also hit an 11-year high with prices of goods inching up every month.
As a result, times are incredibly difficult for many Nigerians. With investors pulling out and businesses shutting up shop, unemployment is also an urgent problem.
A recent recruitment drive by a government agency helps put Nigeria’s unemployment problem in context.
Advertising for only 500 positions, Nigeria’s federal tax agency received 700,000 applications—2,000 of which were by graduates with first class honours degrees.
Similarly, in February, the Nigerian Police Force received almost a million applications for 10,000 listed positions.
With millions of unemployed people seeking means of livelihood, a scheme which promises high returns has appeared to be a beacon of hope.
The government admits this much. Saheed Fijabi, a federal lawmaker, says MMM is leveraging “the high level of unemployment and poverty to deceive unwary Nigerians.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has also warned Nigerians to be careful about committing money to “fraudsters” promising high returns at a time when “the economy has suffered some decline.”
But such warnings have irked MMM participants who accuse authorities of having ulterior motives.
Ogadi Ngozi, a highly ranked MMM participant based in Delta state, in southern Nigeria, says the authorities only disapprove of MMM because the scheme is costing local banks some customers. “Nobody goes to the banks for loans anymore,” Ogazi tells Quartz.
“Why go there and collect loans at outrageous interest rates when you can help one or two persons in MMM and be smiling with a 30% reward?” Ogazi also insists participants are aware of “participating at their own risk.”
Given the tough economic woes, MMM participants staunchly defend their involvement in the scheme citing the government’s inability so far to make life better for Nigerians.
And that reality is making the scheme even more popular as, at the time of writing, rankings by Alexa, a web traffic data and analytics company, show MMM’s websites are the fifth and 14th most visited in Nigeria, only behind Google’s global and Nigerian sites, YouTube, Yahoo but ahead of Facebook.
Julie, a Lagos-based participant, plans to continue to risk her money despite the government’s warning. “The government can say what they like. If they can’t assist us, they should leave us alone.”
For its part, the Nigerian government has tried to crack down on the scheme. EFCC, Nigeria’s economic and financial crimes watchdog, says it has begun investigations. But it also admits it could be a tough ask as the scheme is “faceless.”
By design, the scheme does not run a сentral bank account which holds all the money. Instead, participants transfer money to each other directly “without intermediaries“.
The Central Bank has tried to crack down on bank accounts with any cash deposits involving MMM but participants are also finding a way past that.
While the government has not had much luck so far trying to rein in the scheme, Andrews believes it is only a matter of time before, like most similar schemes, MMM dies a natural death.
“In 2007, there was a different set of Ponzi schemes, just as there where a different set in the early 2000s.
They all crashed eventually as MMM will,” Andrews told Quartz. “I think one went on for almost three years before crashing, but eventually they all do.”
PalmPay, one of Africa’s leading digital financial services companies, is considering a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after attaining a valuation of more than one billion dollars, according to a Bloomberg report.
PalmPay
The report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the fintech company was also seeking to raise between 150 million dollars and 200 million dollars in fresh funding ahead of a potential Initial Public Offering (IPO).
According to the sources, the additional capital is expected to support PalmPay’s next phase of expansion across Africa and selected Asian markets.
If completed, the IPO would rank among the most significant public market debuts by an African fintech company and could encourage other technology firms on the continent to explore listings beyond the traditional financial centres of London and New York.
Founded in 2019, PalmPay has emerged as one of Africa’s fastest-growing consumer fintech platforms, providing digital payments, money transfers, savings, lending and merchant payment solutions.
The company has established its strongest market presence in Nigeria while expanding operations into Ghana, Tanzania and Bangladesh as part of its international growth strategy.
PalmPay says it currently serves more than 35 million registered users and supports over one million businesses and merchants, processing millions of transactions daily.
Its rapid growth has positioned it among Africa’s leading fintech firms, alongside companies such as Flutterwave, Moniepoint, OPay, Wave and Onafriq.
Unlike many technology startups that have prioritised rapid customer acquisition over profitability, PalmPay reportedly achieved profitability in 2025, a development analysts say could enhance investor confidence as the company prepares for another fundraising round and an eventual stock market listing.
The report noted that Hong Kong could offer strategic advantages for PalmPay due to its strong commercial ties with Asian investors and the company’s growing presence in emerging Asian markets.
PalmPay’s early investors include Transsion Holdings, the maker of the Tecno, Infinix and itel smartphone brands, as well as investors linked to NetEase and MediaTek.
Industry analysts believe these long-standing relationships could make Hong Kong a natural destination for PalmPay’s public listing while broadening access to investors already familiar with its business model.
The company’s IPO plans come as venture capital investment in African startups has slowed considerably since the record funding years of 2021 and 2022, prompting many technology firms to focus on profitability, stronger balance sheets and sustainable long-term growth.
Against that backdrop, PalmPay’s proposed fundraising and listing are expected to serve as an important test of international investor appetite for profitable African fintech companies.
The company’s valuation also underscores the resilience of Africa’s digital payments sector, driven by rising smartphone adoption, expanding internet access and increasing demand for cashless transactions across the continent.
Although PalmPay has yet to make a final decision on either the fundraising or the IPO timetable, the reported preparations indicate that the company is positioning itself for its next phase of growth.
Industry observers say a successful Hong Kong listing could provide fresh momentum for Africa’s technology sector and create an alternative pathway for high-growth startups seeking access to global capital markets.
Hackers have hit the database of Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s largest financial institutions, stealing customers’ information.
Zenith confirmed the attack in an email to customers on Tuesday.
The bank said the hackers accessed limited customer information, “including email addresses and phone numbers, during a cyberattack that forms part of a broader global attack on organisations across different sectors”.
The lender stressed that the incident involved only limited customer information, adding that its banking services and digital channels remain secure and fully operational.
The bank said it is investigating the attack, noting that its incident response protocols and other cybersecurity measures were immediately activated after the breach was discovered.
“As a precaution, we encourage our customers to remain vigilant against phishing emails, text messages, or phone calls, and to never disclose their password, PIN, One-Time Password (OTP), or other security credentials to anyone,” the bank said.
Zenith Bank said it remains committed to protecting customers’ information and thanked them for their continued trust, adding that investigations into the incident are ongoing.
In August 2024, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) reported experiencing a similar incident.
The commercial bank said there were attempts to compromise its website domain, but customers’ data was not affected.
The latest attack comes months after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) warned the public of cyber hack attempts to gain access to personal accounts of Nigerians.
The CBN said the hackers were circulating fraudulent messages and emails falsely claiming to originate from the bank.
According to the financial regulator, there were misleading messages circulating, designed to deceive Nigerians and compromise their personal information.
The regulator said the fake communications, which include emails and online messages, often prompt recipients to click suspicious links while spreading false claims about the bank’s leadership, licensing activities, and policy decisions.
Nigerians lost N25.85 billion to digital payment fraud in 2025, according to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Though the figure represents a significant decline from the N52.26 billion recorded in 2024, CBN, said the losses remained substantial for payment service providers (PSPs).
According to the report, although the value of digital payment fraud declined significantly year-on-year, when compared to the N52.26 billion recorded in the previous year, the losses remained substantial for Payment Service Providers (PSPs), underscoring the need for stronger fraud prevention measures across the industry.
In the report, the CBN, also identified systemic risks, cyber threats, the dominance of a few systemically important payment service providers, and the activities of unlicensed payment companies as major concerns confronting the financial sector.
According to the report, although the value of digital payment fraud declined significantly year-on-year, the losses remained substantial for Payment Service Providers (PSPs), underscoring the need for stronger fraud prevention measures across the industry.
“Digital payment fraud in Nigeria stood at N25.85 billion in 2025,” the apex bank said.
It noted that while this represented a considerable improvement from the N52.26 billion lost in 2024, the amount remained significant.
“Though this was lower than N52.26 billion in the preceding year, it represented a substantial loss for PSPs,” the report stated.
The CBN attributed the reduction in fraud losses to enhanced security measures implemented across the financial sector.
It said, “The lower losses in 2025 reflected improvements in monitoring, BVN-NIN integration, and tighter controls.”
Beyond fraud, the report warned that Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital payments landscape faces increasing systemic vulnerabilities as banks and fintech companies become more interconnected through shared payment infrastructure.
According to the report, a major operational failure involving a single payment service provider could quickly spread across the financial system because of the growing dependence on integrated payment platforms.
The CBN observed that despite ongoing efforts to strengthen payment system integration, interoperability remains a significant challenge.
It disclosed that about half of fintech stakeholders continued to express dissatisfaction with the current level of system-wide interoperability.
The report stated that “about 50.00 per cent of fintech stakeholders continued to rate system-wide interoperability as poor, primarily due to the lack of universal APIs and data-sharing standards.”
The apex bank also expressed concern over the concentration of payment activities among a few Systemically Important Payment Service (SIPS) providers, warning that operational failures involving any of them could have widespread consequences.
It explained that the failure of such providers could trigger a “domino effect”, where insolvency or operational glitches in one payment service provider spread rapidly to others, disrupting the smooth functioning of the financial system.
Cybersecurity also featured prominently among the risks identified in the report.
The CBN warned that payment service providers remain vulnerable to ransomware attacks, data breaches and credential theft, noting that cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in targeting financial institutions.
According to the report, “Banking and fintech institutions remained prime targets for ransomware, data leaks, and credential theft.”
It added that, “Cyber threats in Nigeria are no longer random cybercrimes, but increasingly targeted, organised, and identity-driven campaigns.”
The report further cautioned Nigerians against transacting with unlicensed payment companies, stressing that such entities operate outside regulatory oversight and expose users to significant financial risks.
It warned that customers using unlicensed PSPs are not protected by existing regulatory safeguards and that such operators could facilitate illicit financial activities.
“Users of unlicensed PSPs are not covered by regulatory protection that comes with effective oversight and supervision,” the CBN said.
It further warned that, “Unlicenced payment companies are gateways for money laundering which could undermine regulatory efforts and corrode public trust.”
The report underscores the growing importance of strengthening fraud detection systems, improving payment infrastructure interoperability, enhancing cybersecurity resilience, and intensifying regulatory oversight as Nigeria continues to expand its digital payments ecosystem.
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