United States investment research firm, Hindenburg Research, has alleged that Tingo Group, a Nigerian fintech company owned by Dozy Mmobuosi, is a scam.
In a recently released report, Hindenburg Research revealed that Tingo is a diversified business that has subsidiaries across the mobile phones market, food processing, and online food marketplace for farmers in Nigeria.
In their research, Hindenburg discovered that operations of Tingo are non-existent but that Mmobuosi reportedly goes around with dubious claims.
Hindenburg disclosed that the $1.6 billion food processing plant Tingo claimed to have started does not exist, as the plant is only an empty land with just a signpost, despite informing the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that the plant’s building is progressing.
Also, Mmobuosi claimed that his mobile business has 12 million users, who are predominantly farmers, meanwhile, Tingo is not licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the farmers cooperative he claimed are using his mobile are not aware of the company and are only a group of hundreds.
The report said Mmobuosi also claimed to have established Tingo Airlines, but it was discovered later that the poster disclosing the airline business was photoshopped to send the wrong signals.
Mmobuosi made the headlines when he offered to buy Sheffield United, a football club in England.
Part of the report read: “We’ve identified major red flags with Dozy’s background. For starters, he appears to have fabricated his biographical claim to have developed the first mobile payment app in Nigeria. We contacted the app’s actual creator, who called Dozy’s claims “a pure lie”.
“Dozy claimed to have received a PhD in rural advancement from a Malaysian university in 2007. We contacted the school to verify the degree. They wrote back saying no one by his name was found in their verification system.
“In 2017, Dozy was arrested and faced an 8-count indictment over issuance of bad checks, according to the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He later settled the case in arbitration.
“In 2019, Dozy claimed to have launched “Tingo Airlines” and posted social media messages encouraging customers to “fly with Tingo Airlines today”.
“Media outlets later uncovered that Tingo had photoshopped its logo onto pictures of airplanes. Dozy later admitted to never owning any actual aircraft.
“In April 2023, Tingo’s Co-Chairman wrote a public letter to Dozy, filed with the SEC, saying he could not approve the company’s annual report and felt it “necessary to recuse myself by resigning” due to “many critical questions, comments and recommendations” that went “unanswered and unheeded”.
“We strongly suspect Tingo’s cash balance, which it conveniently claims is held in Nigeria, is fake. The company collected only ~12% of the interest income one would expect from its claimed cash balances.
“Overall, we think Tingo is a worthless and brazen fraud that should serve as a humiliating embarrassment for all involved. We do not expect the company will be long for this world.”
SUPPORT NIGERIAN CANADIAN NEWSPAPER CANADA
If you like our work and want to keep enjoying what we offer, kindly support us by donating to the Nigerian Canadian News by clicking here
Share your thoughts in the comments section below
Do you want to share any news or information with us? If yes, contact the publisher at publisher@test1.nascitest.club
