Tears flow as founders of Imagine Lenders flee with N22 billion investors’ funds

TECHNOCRAT MEDIA NIGERIA

Thousands of Nigerians who invested in Imagine Global Solutions Ltd are now stranded as a couple running the money lending company has reportedly fled Nigeria with funds invested by customers.

According to a report by The Gazette, the pair, Bamise, and his wife, Elizabeth Ajetunmobi, reportedly went into hiding after squandering investors’ money said to be as much as N22 billion, according to social media accounts of investors.

Imagine Global Solutions Ltd claimed to be running a micro-lending service to small and medium businesses, offering 22 percent as interest on loans received and 10 percent returns to investors. 

Several victims on social media detailing how they lost between low five figures to as high as N500 million. A WhatsApp group has been created for those affected by the fraudulent scheme to pony resources towards recovering their investments. A Nairaland forum was also created by the investors.

Peoples Gazette said all efforts to get the couple for comments fell through. The company’s listed address in Ajah, Lagos, has been locked. A telephone number for the couple also failed to connect on Monday morning.

Checks on the company official website http://imaginelenders.com/ by TECHNOCRAT MEDIA provided no access as the website has been shut down, displaying the error message “Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (18)”

Zuriel Consulting Limited’s spokesman, the firm’s legal adviser for Imagine Global, said the law firm could not comment on investors’ funds and the disappearance of the couple.

“We have been hearing that the couple had fled Nigeria with investors’ funds,” Zuriel Consulting told The Gazette on Monday morning. “But we have no comments to make about the controversy at this point.”

The firm also said it would not confirm or debunk claims that the amount squandered was up to N22 billion. The Gazette could not independently verify the amount involved, but similar schemes in the past saw investors lose even larger amounts.

Imagine Lenders is only the latest scheme to be exposed as another Ponzi business designed to defraud Nigerians.