Ponzi scheme: Livingtrust Mortgage, Cititrust Holdings lose N6.642 billion shares

Livingtrust Mortgage Bank PLC, formerly known as Omoluabi Mortgage Bank PLC has forfeited 2,041,087,747 units of shares with a monetary value at N6,674,356,932.69.

The final forfeiture order was handed down against the Bank by the Justice F. N. Ogazi of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of N42,461,096.66 and $26.44, all traced to Cititrust Holdings Plc and its subsidiaries.

The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, followed a motion filed by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, through its counsel, Ahmad A. Usman.

According to a statement posted on the EFCC’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday, the shares and funds were found to have been acquired with proceeds from fraudulent investment activities.

“The shares were initially purchased from Osun State Government by Cititrust, using some SPVs and later harmonized and transferred to the name of Cititrust Holdings Plc,” the statement read.

The EFCC noted that the commission had published the interim forfeiture order in a national newspaper, in line with the court’s directive, to allow any interested parties to come forward and show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited.

“Investigation revealed that Cititrust Holdings Plc and its subsidiaries operated as a Ponzi scheme, defrauding several unsuspecting investors,” the EFCC said in the statement.

“The properties were found to have been purchased with several investors’ funds.”

Cititrust Holdings Plc had opposed the EFCC’s application for final forfeiture through a motion and affidavit. However, the court dismissed Cititrust’s claims and upheld the EFCC’s arguments.

Justice Ogazi, in the ruling, held that the EFCC had provided sufficient evidence linking the assets to fraudulent activities and ordered that the proceeds be paid to identified victims of the scheme.

“The victims be paid what is due to them and the remainder, if any, be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the judge ruled.

The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring justice for victims of financial crimes, stating: “The EFCC remains resolute in its fight against economic and financial crimes and will continue to pursue justice on behalf of all Nigerians defrauded by criminal investment schemes.”