Leader of Billion Dollar Cryptocurrency Pyramid Scam “OneCoin” Arrested (See Details)!

The leader of a prolific cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, OneCoin, was arrested and charged on Mar. 6th. OneCoin Ltd. claims to have 3 million members—or victims—worldwide and has generated over €3.3 billion in fraudulent sales. In reality, the OneCoin “cryptocurrency” did not use a blockchain at all while it scammed investors out of billions.

OneCoin’s Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme

OneCoin Ltd. is a multi-level marketing network, proven to be a Ponzi scheme by investigators, where members receive commissions for recruiting others to purchase “educational materials” which come with attached sums of OneCoin. Materials from the company suggested that investors would earn five to ten-fold returns on their investments. As described by Manhattan US attorney Geoffrey S. Berman:

“As alleged, these defendants created a multibillion-dollar ‘cryptocurrency’ company based completely on lies and deceit. They promised big returns and minimal risk, but, as alleged, this business was a pyramid scheme based on smoke and mirrors more than zeroes and ones. Investors were victimized while the defendants got rich.”

Like Bitcoin, OneCoin Ltd. claimed that OneCoins are mined with served maintained and operated by the company and that OneCoin’s price is based on market supply and demand.

Yet, investigations by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that OneCoin was, in fact, a fraudulent pyramid scheme that did not use blockchain at all. As stated by FBI assistant director-in-charge, William Sweeney, Jr:

“Unlike authentic cryptocurrencies, which maintain records of their investors’ transaction history, OneCoin had no real value. It offered investors no method of tracing their money, and it could not be used to purchase anything. In fact, the only ones who stood to benefit from its existence were its founders and co-conspirators.”

The investigation also uncovered that the company represented the value of OneCoin increasing from €0.50 to approximately €29.95 per coin by January 2019. When in reality, because OneCoin was not a freely-traded cryptocurrency, the value of OneCoin was determined internally by leaders in the company.

Overall, court documents show that victims around the globe wired funds to OneCoin controlled bank accounts to purchase cryptocurrency packages. In two quarters alone, OneCoin Ltd. generated €3.35 billion in sales revenue and earned “profits” of €2.23 billion.

Ringleaders of the Scam

Records from the investigation show that the two ringleaders of the scheme are Ruja Ignatova—the “Cryptoqueen”— and Konstantin Ignatov (Ignatova’s younger brother), along with other OneCoin representatives.

OneCoin Ltd. was co-founded in 2014 by Ignatova out of Sofia, Bulgaria. Ignatova served as OneCoin’s top leader until she disappeared from public view in October of 2017. Ignatov then assumed high-level positions in OneCoin and rose to the top leadership position by mid-2018.

Furthermore, the investigation revealed that Ignatova conceived of the OneCoin business “fully intending to defraud investors,” according to the court documents. In one email between Ignatova and her co-founder, she describes her “exit strategy for OneCoin:

“Take the money and run and blame someone else for this….”

OneCoin Leader Arrested in the United States

In early 2019, Ignatov traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, to conduct OneCoin-related business. There he met with Mark S. Scott, a former partner of a major US law firm who assisted Ignatova and others allegedly launder more than $400 million (he was arrested on Sep. 5th, 2018, for charges related to those allegations).

By the end of the trip, law enforcement officials arrested Ignatov at Los Angeles International Airport on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Ignatova, the founder of the scam, was charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and others charges. She is still at large.

Implications of the Scam

The OneCoin scheme is of similar scale to the well-known crypto Ponzi scheme BitConnect, which also defrauded investors out of billions (using a real blockchain). Even after BitConnect, investors have fallen prey to other blockchain-related schemes, especially aroundcryptocurrency mining.

Although cryptocurrency and blockchain hold promise, the newness of the technology has left many investors susceptible to deception and scams; It is critical that users and investors educate themselves on how a blockchain works and on best cybersecurity practices in order to protect themselves.

As iterated by New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr:

“These defendants executed an old-school pyramid scheme on a new-school platform… defrauding investors out of billions. Our Office urges all crypto investors to scrutinize investment opportunities, recognize the prevalence of fraud in this underregulated space, and proceed with caution.”

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Breaking! Oil price rises as uncertainty over Nigeria elections, Venezuela tension mounts

AS Nigeria’s stock market turn positive with significant capital gains ahead of official conclusion of the general elections, oil prices, yesterday shot up, apparently over uncertainty over the outcome of the election’s as well as the political tension in Venezuela. Also the pressure on oil price appears to be coming from a positive sentiment over United States–China talks.

International Brent crude oil futures were at $67.28 a barrel, up 16 cents, or 0.24 percent, from their last close, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.39 per barrel, up 13 cents, or 0.23 percent, from their last price.

“Risk appetite across global markets should improve as President Trump extends the deadline of trade talks with China,” Harry Tchilinguirian, global oil strategist at BNP Paribas in London, said.

“Supply risk is ever present with Venezuelan tensions brewing a notch higher, the National Oil Corporation in Libya refusing to start production at the El Sharara field,” he added, while also citing uncertainty over elections in top African oil exporter, Nigeria. U.S. sanctions on Iranian and Venezuelan crude plus involuntary curbs in Nigeria and Libya are lending support to efforts to balance the market and support prices, efforts led by member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers such as Russia. Further brightening the global economic picture, U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday signalled a potentially bruising trade war with China could be averted.

Trump tweeted he would postpone a March 01, 2019 deadline for higher tariffs on Chinese goods and looked forward to a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping when a Sino-American deal was sealed.

Goldman Sachs analysts said that “the near-term outlook for oil is modestly bullish over the next two to three months”, but added that the outlook for later in 2019 was weaker due to a surge in U.S. exports and an “an increasingly uncertain economic, policy and geopolitical backdrop”.

Meanwhile, Trump resumed his attacks on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, saying the world is too fragile to handle a price hike and urging the cartel to “relax and take it easy.” Trump’s war of words with the OPEC punctuated big price swings in 2018, as he pressured the group to keep the taps open to help consumers. The president’s intervention follows a price rally of about 25 percent this year due to production cuts from OPEC and its allies, diminishing fears about the economic impact of the US-China trade war and Washington’s imposition of sanctions on Venezuelan oil shipments.

“We might see a less aggressive stance on supply cuts from the Saudis, this might stop them from cutting deeper,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zurich.

“But I still think Saudi Arabia has the incentive to see higher oil prices, and deliver the cuts agreed in December, when OPEC and its partners agreed to remove 1.2 million barrels a day’’, he added.

NOPEC risk

The risk to OPEC comes in the form of the so-called ‘No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act’, or NOPEC, an act resurrected by US lawmakers that proposes making the organization subject to the Sherman antitrust law, used more than a century ago to break up the oil empire of John Rockefeller. Congressional support for the bill intensified last year as oil prices neared a four-year high, and Trump publicly blamed OPEC for high pump prices in the US In the past, the White House has opposed the NOPEC legislation – both George W Bush and Barack Obama threatened to use their veto.

OPEC’s concern now is that Trump may break with his predecessors, and angering him by not going “easy,” as he requested in his tweet, raises the stakes. Trump, before becoming president, didn’t just support the NOPEC bill, he was a cheerleader for it. “We can start by suing OPEC for violating antitrust laws,” he wrote in his 2011 book “Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again.”

Whether by coincidence or design, Trump’s latest tweet comes on the eve of International Petroleum Week, which opens in London on Tuesday. The annual event gathers the who’s who of the oil market and industry for several days of conferences, deal-making and cocktail parties.

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Interview: Insurance can serve as security in an election year – Sterling Assurance boss

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Assurance Nigeria Limited, Mr. Fatai Lawal in this interview urges citizens to secure their lives and property with insurance in an election.

In an election period such as now in Nigeria, what are the challenges facing businesses?

At a time like this, businesses are faced with the instability of the political and economic system. However, it is important to look into the issues that concern the growth of our national life.

No doubt, Nigeria and Nigerians both at home and abroad must as a matter of responsibility prepare for the inherent perils that accompany a period of political elections with the prevalent multi-party system and the attendant hiccups.

Political instability has been a major challenge to most economies on the African continent coupled with insincerity on the part of leaders to the governed. These and some other factors have led to uncertainty in the economy and difficulty in business decisions remains shaky.

However, business decisions can be easy and reasonably accurate when the economy is stable. Owners of businesses can predict the outcome of certain decisions during stable, calm and friendly economic environment and as such, it is said that rapid developments occur when there are no wars and policies of government remained responsive. It is therefore expected that government does everything in her power to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

It is imperative that certain risk management mechanisms will have to be put in place by individuals, corporate bodies and governments now that we are preparing for the election period. The time is now. The most scientific social device to prepare against risk in an election year is insurance. It is therefore right to know that insurance as a social means of managing risk has so many roles to play in a nation at a time like this. Therefore, insurance guarantees peace of mind to the insured and enhance the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.

What is your advice to the government?

The role of insurance in any given economy cannot be overemphasized as the economies of most advanced countries in the world today are strongly supported by insurance. Therefore, government should avail itself of insurance in every decision- making especially in the election year which is a period of mixed feelings of panic and hope. This state of mixed feelings can be seen as uncertainty as the outcome of any business plan or decision becomes unclear. Nonetheless, with the tools of insurance, uncertainty in the economy can be sensibly controlled.

Can insurance return the insured back to the position before the loss?

Insurance is an arrangement by which a company or the state undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a specified premium. Insurance promises to place an insured to the position he or she was before a loss as in the case of indemnity policies while benefit policies promise to pay out a lump sum to beneficiaries in case of death or agreed loss.

In essence, to every risk associated to life or business, insurance would provide some forms of security to control the outcome of the uncertainty and when the tools of insurance are employed during an election year, they will mitigate any loss that may happen.

What kind of insurance will you recommend in an election year?

Some unfortunate circumstances that may befall citizens of any given state during any election year are the destruction of property as well as loss of lives and businesses, and so on.

Good enough, destruction to property because of riot, strike or civil commotion used to be exempted in the standard wordings in most insurance policies but nowadays, with little additional premium such can be covered. However, some suggested insurance products to buy during an election year would include:

fire & burglary insurance, house holder insurance, comprehensive motor insurance, business interruption insurance, life insurance covers such as endowment and investment policies; as well as annuity among others.

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Breaking: Nigeria’s downstream sector records $56bn revenue yearly (Read more)

Nigeria’s downstream sector records a yearly income of 56 billion dollars, Mr Abayomi Awobokun, Chief Executive Officer, Enyo Retail and Supply Limited, has said.

Awobokun made this known at an interactive session with journalists on Wednesday in Lagos.

He said that the sector could boost the nation’s revenue above the 56 billion dollars annually, if more investment could be encouraged.

Awobokun urged the Federal Government to encourage more investments into the downstream sector to unlock business potential in the oil and gas industry.

He also urged the government to look inward and ensure that challenges facing the sector were addressed.

The chief executive officer said that lack of good networks of road to the terminal where marketers load products posed serious challenge to the downstream sector.

He urged the government to do something about it in order to boost the nation’s revenue drive.

Awobokun, on the uniqueness of the budding retail outlets, said that in the next five years, players in the downstream sector would change.

He said that many of the players in the sector would end up merging with the growing ones, adding Nigeria could not build a strong downstream without technological innovations and designs.

“That technological innovation is what Enyo has brought into the industry.

“We see existing downstream stations already slipping into being too comfortable and forgetting to come up with new ideas.

“We are not here to just sell petroleum products to our customers, we also want customers’ satisfaction,” Awobokun said.

He explained that Folawiyo Energy was a major partner in the company, alongside a foreign investor.

“Technological driven innovations are already driving profoundly positive changes in almost all facets of our lives,’’ he said.

Awobokun explained that Enyo’s service innovations was the first to offer customers what he termed loyalty scheme, being an opportunity to reward its loyal buyers.

“We want to use innovations and modern designs to our advantage, to grow business in the downstream sector.

“Enyo doesn’t want to get involved in the business of importing products. We buy from those that import and then sell,” he said.

Awobokun listed some of the challenges in the downstream sector which investors and government should look at as negative stigma, supply shortage, customers distrust, congestion and poor road facilities.

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Breaking: CBN Injects $210m Into Foreign Exchange Market (Read more)

Breaking:  CBN Injects $210m Into Foreign Exchange Market (Read more)

The Central Bank of Nigeria has injected $210m into the various segments of the market to sustain its intervention in the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market.

CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

Okorafor said that the apex bank offered $100m as wholesale interventions and allocated $55m to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

He said that another $55m was allocated to customers requiring foreign exchange for business and personal travels, tuition or medical fees.

The director explained that the Tuesday’s interventions were in continuation of the bank’s resolve to sustain the high level of stability in the foreign exchange market.

According to him, it is also to continue to ease access to the currency by customers in different sectors.

Okorafor said the CBN was optimistic that the Naira would sustain its run against the dollar and other major currencies around the world, considering the level of transparency in the market.

Meanwhile, in spite of election activities, the Naira continues to maintain its stability in the foreign exchange market, exchanging at an average of N356 to a dollar at the Bureau de Change segment.

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