By Adedapo Adesanya
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to charge Mr Dozy Mmobuosi, the CEO of Tingo Group, for allegedly fabricating financial statements and other documents of three of the company’s subsidiaries.
This is coming after the Managing Director of its Africa business, Mr Edwin Obasogie, said its recent woes were caused by a short seller, who wanted to make money from the company, and claimed the company was out of deep waters.
In the latest development, the US regulator case filed on Monday, December 18, 2023, alleged that “since at least 2019, Mr Mmobuosi spearheaded a scheme to fabricate financial statements and other documents of the three entities and their Nigerian operating subsidiaries, Tingo Mobile Limited and Tingo Foods PLC.”
The SEC’s complaint, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges all four defendants with violating the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
Mr Mmubuosi is being charged based on insider trading, falsehood, failure to disclose the sale of millions of common shares for which he was the ultimate beneficial owner, and internal controls violations.
The SEC’s filing release said, “Mmobuosi made and caused the entities to make material misrepresentations about their business operations and financial success in press releases, periodic SEC filings.”
The SEC also said Mr Mmobuosi “fraudulently obtained hundreds of millions in money or property through these schemes, and that Mmobuosi has siphoned off funds for his personal benefit, including purchases of luxury cars and travel on private jets, as well as an unsuccessful attempt to acquire an English Football Club Premier League team, among other things.”
The SEC has also moved to freeze Mr Mmobuosi’s assets, stop Tingo and its subsidiaries from transferring money or property or issuing shares to Mmobuosi and to also restrict the defendants from selling or otherwise disposing of their respective holding in Agri-Fintech and/or Tingo Group stock.
Also, it sought to stop the parties in the case from “destroying, altering, or concealing records and documents; and (5) ordering Defendants to show cause why a preliminary injunction continuing the relief set forth in any temporary restraining order as well as ordering repatriation of proceeds and a sworn accounting should not be entered.”
Dipo Olowookere