A Lagos State high court, Ikoyi division has ordered Mr. Bamise Samson Ajetunmobi, Mrs. Elizabeth Anuoluwapo Ajetunmobi to pay the sum of N18.8billion with interest to 27 aggrieved Nigerian investors who were scammed by them.
Justice Oyekan-Abdullahi granted the reliefs sought by the claimants. The 1st to 17th claimants’ counsel- the sum of N15.5 Billion and 18th to 27th claimant the sum of N3.3 billion.
The judge also exited CBN from the proceedings and dismissed all the preliminary objections filed by the defendants.
Back story
The couple started the business in 2016 with Mr Bamise who was a banker pooling money from colleagues and friends and then lending the money to traders and market women looking for soft and unsecured loans.
His first set of clients were his coworkers which he was able to convince them to trust him with their cash in exchange for a 10% monthly ROI payout.
He resigned from the bank to face the business full time as the business took off.
In 2017 he founded the company named Imagine Global Solutions Limited with hopes of becoming a major money lender by offering microloans to the unbanked, small and medium-sized companies, and low-income workers throughout Africa and the rest of the globe.
The company offered loan disbursements ranging from N10,000 to N100,000 on a 30-to-40-day cycle and needed a minimum investment of N100 million from investors, with an interest rate ranging from 6% to 36% depending on the capital amount paid monthly or as negotiated.
The company claimed its business model was based on 4 key metrics. Using his microlending subsidiary, TFS Finance Ltd, they target “traders who sell fast-moving goods daily”, conduct “due diligence”, disburse the loans often between N10k and N100k over a 30-40-day cycle. Repayment is collected a day after the loan is disbursed through daily repayments.
The business investor base grew from about 30 investors to over 90,000 investors in 5 years. The loan portfolio also grew from about N5 million to about N11 billion within this period.
The business came crashing in August 2021, when they failed to pay investors any return. when investors did not see the accustomed alerts, they grew worried prompting a showdown meeting with some of its major investors.
An emergency meeting was held between Ajetunmobi and their largest investors who needed answers for smaller investors to whom they were answerable.
At the meeting, investors probed the management of the company over the missed payments demanding that the company provide a statement showing where all the funds have been invested.
Mr Ajetunmobi insisted that the missed payment was a blip and that things will quickly return to normal by September.
By September, the alerts once again did not drop forcing yet another string of meetings with Mr Ajetunmobi. By then, it was obvious that the company was facing serious challenges in meeting its monthly payments.
Investors then suggested that he cut rates from 10% to about 3%, a logical sacrifice if it meant that they at least get their capital back.
By October 1, Mr Ajetunmobi then cut the interest rate to 7%, promising to make things right.
News broke out on social media about a couple who had allegedly conned investors, defrauding them of an estimated N22 billion.
Several investors of the company took to social media alleging that the company defrauded them of their investments
Aggrieved with the turnout of events, some investors approached the court and instituted a lawsuit against the couple who were said to be on the run and their companies – Imagine Global Holding Company Ltd and Imagine Global Solutions.
On October 15, 2021, the counsel to investors who were 27 in number brought before the court an ex-parte motion seeking to freeze the accounts of the Ajetunmobi and their companies.
On October 28, the Lagos state high court restrained the couple and their company from accessing funds in 21 commercial banks in Nigeria over the alleged N22 billion scam.
The court restrained them from dealing with monies standing to their credit in any accounts in the bank to the tune of N11.795 billion pending determination of the Mareva application filled by applicants.
Reliefs sought by claimants
- A DECLARATION that this Honourable Court is clothed with jurisdictional competence to enforce the written contracts executed between the parties herein vides this Originating Summons, on the ground that the underlying issues border on the interpretation of written contracts, that arose out of the Claimants’ respective investment agreements and the failure of the Defendants to comply with the terms of the said agreements.
- A DECLARATION that the Defendants’ failure to comply with the terms of the Investment Agreements executed between the Claimants and the 2nd Defendant, vis-à-vis, the failure of the Defendants to pay the Claimants their investment sums as agreed in the confirmation of investment, constitute a breach of the contract validly entered between the Claimants and the 2nd Defendant.
- AN ORDER of this Honourable Court mandating, compelling and directing the Defendants to forthwith pay the 1st – 17th Claimants jointly and severally pay the total sum of N15,541,350,000.00{Fifteen Billion, Five Hundred and Forty-One Million, Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira} at 10.0% interest per annum being the outstanding investment sums accruing to the 1st – 17th Claimants who are investors; together with all other listed investors, in the 2nd Defendant’s company.
- AN ORDER of this Honourable Court mandating, compelling and directing the Defendants to forthwith pay the 18th – 27th Claimants jointly and severally pay the total sum of N3,387,450,000.00 (Three Billion, Three Hundred and Eight-Seven Million, Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira Only) at 10.0% interest per annum being the outstanding investment sums accruing to the 18th – 27th Claimants who are investors; together with all other listed investors, in the 2nd Defendant’s company.
What you should know
- While the 27 aggrieved Nigerians are the claimants in the suit, the defendants are the couple and their companies – Imagine Global Holding Company Ltd and Imagine Global Solutions.
- The defendants are both founders of Imagine Global Solution Limited, an investment company based in Lagos, Nigeria, founded in 2017.
- The claimants/applicants are aggrieved Nigerians who heavily invested their funds in Imagine Global.
- The couple intended to become a major lender by offering microloans to the unbanked, small and medium-sized companies and low-income workers throughout Africa and the rest of the globe.
- They conned investors, defrauding them of billions of naira. N11.795 billion was the outstanding investments and return on investments accruing to the claimants/applicants from the defendants.
Nairametrics
