By Bayo Davids
These are not the best of times for Anambra State Police Commissioner, Aderemi Adeoye as 32 Nigerians have accused him of dishonestly diverted and mismanaged over N20bn in a scheme called ATIC Cooperative.
In a petition addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun dated January 30th, 2024, titled, “Petition for Intervention in the ongoing ponzi scheme, fraudulent diversion and misappropriation of over N20bn funds under the ATIC Cooperative operated by Mr Aderemi Adeoye, Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, the petitions alleged that the conduct of the police boss is a violation of the code of conduct of a public officer under the Nigerian Code of Conduct Bureau, Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, among other legislations.
The petitioners who listed their names and locations under the petition, called for urgent intervention in the matter without further delay.
The petition, a copy of which was cited by our correspondent read, “We the undersigned write to seek your intervention in the case of the operation of a ponzi scheme, fraudulent diversion, and misappropriation of funds by Mr Aderemi Olufemi Adeoye. Acts in violation of code of conduct of a public officer under the Nigerian Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, Co- Operative Society Law of Lagos State, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The said Mr Adeoye is in the employ of the Nigeria Police Force and currently serves as the Commissioner of the Anambra Police Command.”
Going down memory lane to narrate how it all started, the petitioners said, “Sometime around 2017, we became ‘friends’ with Mr Adeoye on the Facebook social media site. At the time, he was serving in the African Union on secondment from Nigeria. He endeared himself to us and many others by projecting himself as a champion for victims of fraud and an upright man. Often, he claimed to have come to the aid of persons who had been defrauded on Facebook. He got many accolades from many of us for these claims. As time will show, these claims were a deliberate and well-planned effort by him to win the trust of many of us on Facebook as a precursor to launching his grand scheme.
“Riding on his popularity, sometime in 2018, Mr. Adeoye approached a group of his friends on Facebook, including some of the undersigned, and informed us about the setting up of a cooperative investment club. His idea was that members of the cooperative club will pull funds together to invest in various products and platforms and profits will be shared based on the investments made by each member. He also suggested that members can get bargain prices by buying landed properties together in a large group.
“His suggestion was welcomed by many of us, especially those in the diaspora. It was seen as an opportunity to invest in Nigeria and, as it is fronted and led by a senior police officer, such investments can be done in an atmosphere of trust and confidence. Indeed, the trust level on Mr. Adeoye was so high and the attraction of his suggestion was so strong that initial payments for investments were made directly to his personal bank account. Subsequently, when the club was set up with the name of Alpha Trust Investment Club, ATIC. A bank account in the name of a company called ATIC Ventures and Business was created solely by Mr. Adeoye and payments were now routed through that bank account and other subsidiary accounts related to it set up by him. This registration brought the Club under Corporate and Allied Matters Act law of the federation.
“From its inception in 2018, the Club began to grow with members’ funds. By 2019, new members were added to the Club. This swelled the total membership to more than 400. This trend of admitting new members each year continued. By 2023, there were more than 1,400 members in ATIC.
“Also, in May 2020, ATIC was formally registered as a Cooperative with the Lagos State Government as a Cooperative Multipurpose Society. This also brought it under regulatory laws governing Cooperative Societies in Lagos and Nigeria.”
Operational modalities
The petitioners noted that “In accordance with the laws guiding Cooperatives, members expected that ATIC would set up structures in compliance with the laws and that Mr. Aderemi Adeoye would only stand in an advisory role and ensuring compliance as a serving public servant. To this end, a “Board of Trustees” and an “Executive Management Committee” were purportedly set up. However, it soon became clear that ATIC structures were only in name, as Mr. Adeoye warehoused and controlled the Club and ran it like a personal business.
“Demands for transparency and accountability were routinely ignored or shouted down. Club structures were rendered redundant, access to information was denied and threats were routinely used to keep members silent. To compound matters, investments made by members were shrouded in secrecy and opacity, with no clarity in sums invested, contracts entered with third parties, and decision-making processes that lead to investments. All these and more have led to the resignation of some of the members of the so-called “BOT” and our desire to seek your intervention to save us from monumental losses arising from one man’s devious plans.
“For investments, members are informed of opportunities such as stock. investments, land purchase and cryptocurrency investments. These investment opportunities are offered to members routinely. In 2023, Mr/ Adeoye stated that ATIC has investments worth over N20bn.”
The issues
The petitioners listed their complaints to include “a lack of accountability, lack of proper structure, gross abuse of powers, intimidation, arbitrary punitive actions against members, negligence of duty, and a failure to adhere to regulatory requirements. All of these have cost members dearly.
Others include refusal to set up investment committee, conversion of BOT to an advisory role and arbitrary removal of members from club, unauthorized registration of club name and bank accounts, failure to enact constitution among others.
They also accused Adeoye of generating unaudited reports “Showing massive wealth and uses this to attract new members who then must pay to join the Club. He then proceeds to use their money to pay off existing members as “dividends.” He has basically been operating his own personal securities and exchange outfit. He robs Peter to pay Paul.
“He (Adeoye) has refused to provide the total number of issued and paid shares of the company and the number of shares held by each member. No records on this exist. This has made it impossible to know the worth of the Club. Rather, he declares dividends without showing members how the figures were computed, how much was realized in net profit, how much was put into paying dividends, and what percentage was plowed back into the venture. He is the only one who knows the total number of issued shares, how many people collected dividends, and the total amount paid. When members ask questions, they are labelled as ‘enemies’ ‘toxic’ and are summarily expelled from the Club.”
They further noted that while they were told to pay for plots in the Miami Beach Estate, “Individual members paid for several plots which were supposed to be allocated after purchase. Over three years later, no land and no allocation has been made or provided. Our private investigation reveals that the area is actually under government acquisition.” These estates were to be located in Port Harcourt City and Ogun State. “
While urging the IGP to act swiftly, the petitioners added, “We recently learned that Mr Adeoye would be retiring from the Police sometime in March this year. We also learned that he has moved his family put of Nigeria. The N20billion Cooperative has no physical address, no website, no staff, and no documentation relating to individual purchases through the Club, no record of our collective assets available to members. They are all in the custody of Mr Aderemi Adooye if they exist at all. The only things that members have as proof of their multi- billion investments are whatever he says and a Facebook page! That Facebook page is at risk of being shut down at any time, and he may become inaccessible after retirement.
“We the undersigned members of the Club with over N500m investment in the scheme repose a lot of confidence in your office and the corruption fighting stance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We are trusting your good office to investigate and take immediate actions on this matter as a primus case involving virtual investment of Nigerians in diaspora to encourage more investment at home, as failure to take a prompt and decisive action in this case would not only lead to further discouragement of diaspora investment in our beloved nation but may cause an untold embarrassment to this administration that is trying so hard to curb corruption in high places, since this matter involves a sitting Commissioner of Police in one of the most volatile states in the country.
“We are requesting that Officer Adeoye be compelled to disengage from running the investments with immediate effect, with an undertaking not to touch or deal in any assets belonging to the Club, since his involvement in the scheme, and dealing in the business as a public servant, in the first place, is prima facially illegal ab initio and a matter of law. That a full audit of his activities has been carried out by an independent and reputable audit company and that he be prosecuted if found culpable. We are requesting that you place an immediate ban on the following accounts with the underlisted banks into which members have deposited funds at one point or the other, and all accounts in all other banks traceable to the BVNs linked to them because of the possibility of capital flight immediately this becomes public.”