Secret Reporters No place to hide
Secret Reporters
”Further to our mandate to sell 96,070,872 shares of Ecobank (ETI) at a fixed price of N129 per share, we confirmed that the share were sold by us for a total of N1,537,245,952 out of which N300,000,000 was paid to you (Mr. Arnold Ekpe). We confirm that the outstanding proceeds from the sale have been misappropriated by us and we undertake to meet the obligation of N1,237,345,095 and US$80,000”.
With this October 17, 2016 letter to Mr Arnold Ekpe, a customer & client of Partnership Investment Co. Ltd., a major player in the Nigerian Stock Market, Mr, victor Ogiemwonyi the MD/CEO of Partnership admitted to the fraudulent misappropriation of funds entrusted to his care.
In other words, he stole & converted his client’s funds. Mr Ekpe, former MD, Ecobank had reported Mr Ogiemwonyi for coverting over N1.2 billion & US$80,000 due him from sale of his ETI shares. The shares were sold & rather than remit the proceeds to his bank account as arranged & agreed upon, Mr Ogiemwonyi diverted the monies into his company’s account. He admitted this!
Some other 300 investors have alleged a N4.8 billion capital marked fraud perpetuated by the same Mr Victor Ogiemwonyi; the hitherto maverick financial whizkid. They are planning to stage a protest soon against the Nigerian Stock Exchange & the chief capital market regulator Securities & Exchange Commission SEC for admitting a fraudster of the calibre of Victor Ogiemwonyi into the financial system.
The investors were skimmed off in Ogiemwonyi’s Scheme called Partnership Securities Deposit Account. These investing clients who were shareholders elsewhere were advised to buy into the Scheme whereby their redundant shares (which were not being traded over the years) are to be managed by Partnership’s subsidiary PICOL to generate 10% returns payable every six months. Many investors deposited their shares worth millions of Naira (e.g. Mr Alabi Sola -N26.8 million, Mr John Igbasanmi -N4.08 million, Mr Omowale Omogbemi -N11.2 million, Mr Godwin Anono, Chairman, Standard Shareholders Association of Nigeria -N160 million, Chied Solasi -N230 million etc).
The 10% was never paid & Mr Ogiemwonyi the Victor of Fraud who kept on re-assuring them that the monies were being re-invested. Today, no 10% returns, no re-invested monies & no originally deposited shares are available. All are gone, prompting the investors to be on the war-path. On receipt of Mr Ekpe’s complaint Oct. 17, 2016, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) dutifully swung into action by suspending Partnership Securities Ltd from trading on all floors of the NSE -effective the following morning till now.
It also requested the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) to place the N42,499,761.20 (being proceeds of share sold by Partnership earlier on but due to be settled Oct. 18, 2016) into Mr Ekpe’s bank account instead of Partnership where it will as usual, enter their voicemail; a request effected Nov. 8, 2016. Mr Ekpe after complaining to NSE Oct. 17, 2016, petitioned EFCC and Mr Ogiemwonyi was arrested after investigation. The matter is now with the Court and Mr Ogiemwonyi was remanded to Ikoyi Prisons.
When the case came up again Friday February 17th 2017, he was sent back to the prison and case adjourned to April 2017. All the assets of Partnership & Mr Ogiemwonyi (known to EFCC) have been put on hold. This is now public knowledge. But as usual, we & only we have a detailed account of the assets of Ogiemwonyi. Since the case blew open, we have been conducting our own investigation.
Some persons close to him we gathered went begging Edo State Government of which his 1969-73 Eghosa classmate rules, to release Edo State debt of N16 million to his Oasis Hotel. Obaseki allegedly paid the money which must now have gone into voicemail. Some weeks ago, workers of his SBDC Micro-Finance Bank at Ring Rd in front of Oba’s Palace fled as many hundreds of customers stormed the bank to recover their deposits.
The younger sister Bridget who manages the place was rescued by the Police at Oba Market. That became an avenue for the police as she & another staff called Joy were promptly arrested. They sat on the floor all Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, Efe, his cousins and a Pastor with Mountain of Fire and miracle went to bail them.
Meanwhile, Secret Reporters reliably gathered from Houston Texas that the US Dept of Justice has started investigation into his dealings there & may soon prosecute him
We have a detailed account of many more victims of many more products & subsidiaries of Partnership like MIDAS, Partnership Capital Management, POPFUND, Mutual Wealth Fund managed by Arese, Ogiemwonyi (eldest of three daughter), Micro-Credit Schemes, SBDC Micro Finance Bank being managed by Bridget, Ogiemwonyi’s younger sister & even the Security Brokerage Account handled by Andrews Elueni, Ogiemwonyi’s Supervising Executive Manager.
The fraud is nearer N20 billion (according to our investigations) than the alleged published N10 billion in newspapers. How did Mr Ogiemwonyi spend so much money? We dug into the life & times of Mr Victor Ogiemwonyi since he, a full-blooded Bini was born in Ibadan, August 1955.
We went to Eghosa Grammar School Benin-City to ascertain his being a student there in 1969. Then to Edo College which he left in 1975. We followed him to Wilberforce University, Ohio all through to Texas Southern Univ. Houston where he obtained an MBA in 1981. There he met his wife Funke, the prized daughter of Insurance mogul Henry Fajemiroku. Secret Reporters was there when they had their four children; Mrs. Arese Ugwu, Ms. Isoken, Kolawole & Ms Ivie. We went to all the places he worked at before starting Partnership in 1991 and how he had fared since then.
Victor Ogiemwonyi of Partnership Investment was released on bail from Ikoyi Prisons last Fri. March 17
The juicy story of the Victor Ogiemwonyi continues…
you did not do your findings correctly, a lot of lies in your report