FOUNDED TO DEFRAUD: MONEY DOUBLERS GTB VEERS INTO PONZI SCHEME IN DESPERATE BID TO DEFRAUD CUSTOMERS AND STAY AFLOAT

Secret Reporters

All is not currently well with one of Nigeria’s foremost bank that prides its foundation on trust, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) as evidence made available to Secret Reporters revealed that the bank has given room to staff to engage in a quick making money venture by defrauding staff systematically. This does not include the sex for promotion carried out by most of the executive directors to be detailed in series, but this time, it is following the footsteps of MMM.

In financial scheme patterned after the notorious Jewish American fund manager and convict, Bernard Madoff, we gathered that some of the staff has turned themselves into syndicates which include recruited lawyers where they convince the unsuspecting customer with large sum of money to open another special account with the bank, promising them mouthwatering interest.

One of those who fell victim to this scam is a lawyer, Max Akor Onoja who opened an account with GTB in Lokoja branch, with the current Kogi State Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja as his account officer. Edward who leads the ponzi scheme convinced him to pull out N1 million from his savings account in the bank into another special account operated by the bank, with promise that the bank will pay N50,000 as monthly interest rate

As a guarantee that GTB will pay the money at the agreed time, he insisted that Edward give him an undated cheque to present it for payment whenever he intends to claim his deposit, which was given.

While he was in the United States, , he sold his Mercedes Benz E-Class for Eight Hundred Thousand Naira and instructed that the money be paid into the ponzi account run by GTB which was acknowledged by Edward, with monthly interest to be N30,000.

We gathered that some of the staffer apart from Edward engages in this scheme secretly by convincing unsuspecting members of the public to remove their monies in the banks to a special account within the bank with the claim that their deposits were to be loaned to investors who in turn make huge returns on investment. Mouthwatering interests are promised them as incentives.

GTB through these scammers and fraudsters who works in the bank actually pay the initial interest rate for some months, after which both the invested fund and interest were never paid again.

According to a source “The mafia-like financial outfit has series of lawyers in their payroll who come handy to make cases for the syndicate. They threatened the fund owners with all manners of threat so that they back out in fear and forfeit their monies”.

Edward who is the Chief of Staff to the Kogi State governor, Mr Yahaya has concluded plans to move some of the government accounts to GTB as a way of saying thank you for giving him the opportunity to head the scam department of the bank.