MMM, A Ticking Time Bomb!

mmm

MMM Nigeria which boasts on its website of over 500,000 members is a time bomb about to explode.

All of the public discussions even on social media about the high rise of the Ponzi scheme in Nigeria are focused on the impact it has on enriching their lives and filling their pockets in a time where the economy is in turmoil.

But this focus on the benefits of the scheme diverts attention from the fact that it is still a Ponzi scheme.

By the way, many might wonder what a Ponzi scheme is. A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud in which belief in the success of a non-existent enterprise is fostered by the payment of quick returns to the first investors from money invested by later investors. This is how MMM works!

MMM may be new to Nigeria but it isn’t new to the world. The scheme has been in existence since 1994. It was created in Russia by Sergei Mavrodi, his brother Vyacheslav Mavrodi, and Olga Melnikova. The company grew rapidly after it was able to attract money from private investors due to promises of annual returns of up to a thousand percent! By this, it was able to let the public believe its shares were a safe and profitable investment. The company at its peak was taking in more than 100 billion rubles (about $50 million) each day from the sale of its shares to the public.

However what happened next? On July 22, 1994, MMM offices were closed by the Russian police for tax evasion. For a few days the company attempted to continue the scheme, but soon ceased operations. At that point, MMM was owing between 100 billion and 3 trillion rubles to the investors (from $50 million to $1.5 billion). This led to 50 investors committing suicide having lost all of their money in the scheme.

MMM also began its operations in South Africa. Here, it claimed a 30% per month return through a “social financial network”. The group was later identified by the South African National Consumer Commission as a possible pyramid, and accounts of its clients ended up being frozen.

Now MMM has created a website in Nigeria putting forward the same claims it made in South Africa. And it is not a coincidence that the scheme was introduced at a time of economic hardship in the country.

Many Nigerians have been attracted to its promises. There is no doubt that some have reaped from the scheme (getting their 30% interest return).

There is a state of euphoria among its ‘’investors’’ who have been able to invite newcomers to the scheme.

But what surely comes next is a crisis. BOOM! The bomb explodes when the smart investors in the scheme realise that the high and rising interests are unsustainable and they, therefore, begin to pull out of the scheme. This will definitely collapse the structure of the scheme and thereby cause panic leading to more pull outs. This would later lead to the 1994 Russian scenario, hopefully with no suicides.

What happens next after this, one might again ponder.

Trust Nigerians, someone would have to be blamed. The government, politicians, the media, speculators, and even fellow MMM investors. Someone or people would be blamed for the calamity and the government would be requested to provide relief for their problems.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) have constantly been warning Nigerians against the scheme but to no heed, with many raining insults to the money regulatory bodies.

It is a question of when, and not whether the MMM scheme will reach its point.

But one thing is clear. The longer the time bomb ticks, the larger will be the bang and damage when it explodes.

An African proverb says, a fly that refuses advice of it to stop perching on a corpse follows it into the grave.

27 COMMENTS

  1. You have not done your research well enough…if you have, you will know that the government is the only danger that their is in MMM..not that they have the power to close it down, but because of the intentional panic they are causing which as always been a strategy in governance…the way the system operates is sustainable, as long as banks survives, MMM will survive, the only difference is MMM doesn’t have a central account or an office, it is an individual to individual donation. The government always like to put its people in bondage and it’s only those that are ready to be free from that that will see the light.

    Pls note, MMM is not a ponzi scheme, there is no central account therefore nobody can run away with your money..not even Mavordi himself.

  2. Thank you for this write-up. i have warned several people in my area but they dont want to hear….i am just gently chilling and drinking my Kunu, waiting for the huge drama that will occur very soon. many people will be in serious trouble very soon lol.

    This was how perfect manager came, duped many of them and left. Now MMM….they will soon cry!

  3. MMM is a God sent programme to alleviate poverty . The rich men are scared that soon the poor will be as soon as they are without much struggling but my simply helping a brother or sister and be helped in return. We are living Bible standards which says give and it will come back to you, good measures pressed down shaken together and running over.

    • If they say MMM is a Scam, no qualms but…. Ask them this questions ,
      When Nepa over bills/gives estimated bills…it is not a scam.
      When DSTV still charges you for not using ur subscription due to no NEPA light….it is not a scam
      When filling stations adjust pump and sell at 160 per liter in disguise…it is not a scam
      When bank deduct several money/charges from your account for nothing…it is not a scam
      When politicians loot national treasury without probe while our infrastructures gets dilapidated, no jobs for the youth, no money to pay workers salaries….. This too no be scam stall
      What about the fake Immigrations recruitment that claimed lots of innocent lives….that one sef no be scam Abi?
      Police recruitments that requires only N10,000 men yet they charged 1,000 for form that over 100,000 youths bought….. More like scam to me.
      Rubbish!!! Rubbish!!!
      MMM is a God sent programme to alleviate poverty . The rich men are scared that soon the poor will be as soon as they are without much struggling but my simply helping a brother or sister and be helped in return. We are living Bible standards which says give and it will come back to you, good measures pressed down shaken together and running over.

      • Thank u my brother, people are dieying everyday bcos of hunger. Nigerian are not helping hand. All the known is to condem and talk rubbish. Make everything to be difficult for the poor
        All hands are not equal. They should main theri business ooooo.

  4. Dumebi, i was considering participating in MMM but your point made me rethink the kind of person you are. Instead of wishing your friends the best, you are hoping you are right and they lose their money. Even life is a risk. May i not have a friend like you. I will give it a trial with money i can lose. Yinka, you must be a bitter person to constantly write without research. I’ve read and researched about mmm. No one was ever scammed . it has always been a case of panic.

  5. If they say MMM is a Scam, no qualms but…. Ask them this questions ,
    When Nepa over bills/gives estimated bills…it is not a scam.
    When DSTV still charges you for not using ur subscription due to no NEPA light….it is not a scam
    When filling stations adjust pump and sell at 160 per liter in disguise…it is not a scam
    When bank deduct several money/charges from your account for nothing…it is not a scam
    When politicians loot national treasury without probe while our infrastructures gets dilapidated, no jobs for the youth, no money to pay workers salaries….. This too no be scam stall
    What about the fake Immigrations recruitment that claimed lots of innocent lives….that one sef no be scam Abi?
    Police recruitments that requires only N10,000 men yet they charged 1,000 for form that over 100,000 youths bought….. More like scam to me.
    Rubbish!!! Rubbish!!!
    MMM is a God sent programme to alleviate poverty . The rich men are scared that soon the poor will be as soon as they are without much struggling but my simply helping a brother or sister and be helped in return. We are living Bible standards which says give and it will come back to you, good measures pressed down shaken together and running over.

  6. inasmuch as govt can issue warnings when its analysis so dictates the question is: if govt finds out some operational discrepancies in a company registered in its shores why cant it find a way to rectify the anormalies? But the MMM has positively impacted the lives of half a milion nigerians. Why not make law to make the scheme fail proof?

  7. Mr you have not done enough work to justify the brown envelope given to you its your word against ours even if they bribe with a million dollars in this age of social network in this jet age we all have access to the Internet so keep trying we are ready for you
    Is unfortunate but but you knew nothing about mmm it started first in 1989
    But wait a minute do you think we all are dummy who can’t make research on things they want to inventure into I know how mmm have gone in Russia South Africa but you know Nigerians are more suffiticated

  8. I rili wish we do our researches well before makin statements… There is no central account in MMM, xo no one can run away with any moni. MMM only serve as cordinators and nation els . pls stop saying dell owe people millions

  9. And u think u are hoping u can start the panic by writing something like this. Small fly like you, when bigger dogs like the SEC and CBN has spoken and their words went right the window. And small fly like u wey no reach swat, u think u can do what they couldn’t. Oga, pls, go and sit down

  10. IS MMM A REALLY A SAFE AND PROFITABLE INCOME OPPORTUNITY ?
    There is so much buzz these days about MMM, a new income opportunity in Nigeria that gives people 30% of their investment every 30 days and there have been so many questions, oppositions, testimonies and debates about the validity, profitability and legitimacy of MMM. If you have not already heard about MMM or would like to know more about it so as decided if it will be good for you, KINDLY READ THE INFORMATION HERE CAREFULLY.

    MMM is an income opportunity that has been available in over 180 countries for some time and has been in Nigeria for about 9 months now. MMM has over 200 million users worldwide and just over 300 thousand members in Nigeria as at the time of this post.

    Just like several other opportunities that have come into Nigeria, we have to decide whether or not we should patronize such opportunities, especially when we have had bitter experiences in the past.
    The problem most people have is the difficulty in identifying a viable opportunity and the laziness to do something about it immediately. It is important to note that when a person continues ignore opportunities, no matter how rich or wealthy the person is, eventually the person will become poor financially. Someone defined the state of being POOR as PASSING OVER OPPORTUNITIES REPEATEDLY.

    As long as you keep ignoring opportunities for additional income, wealth creation and sustenance, you will eventually become poor because no matter how much money you have, if you don’t keep getting much more than you spend, the money will eventually finish. One thing we must realize is that expenses keep coming and have a greater probability to increase with time.

    OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS FOR MMM

    MMM has been in Nigeria for barely 1 year and so many people are asking question as to how viable and reliable it is. Well we will furnish you with the information we have found and give you our candid opinion.

    A. OVERVIEW

    MMM is is a community of ordinary people, selflessly helping each other, on the principle of gratuitousness, reciprocity and benevolence, a kind of the Global Fund of mutual aid. MMM is currently available in over 100 countries and has over 200 million registered users worldwide.

    In MMM you don’t have to make contracts or pledge your property. In MMM there are no lenders and no debtors. Everything is very simple: one participant asks for help — another one helps.
    The only thing that MMM demands from its participants is to be honest and kind to each other. You ask for financial help when you need it, you give financial help when you are able to do it.

    MMM is not a bank, MMM does not collect your money, MMM is not an online business, HYIP, investment or MLM program. MMM is a community where people help each other. MMM gives you a technical platform which helps millions of participants worldwide to connect those who NEED help to those who are ready to PROVIDE help, for FREE. All transferred funds to another participant are your help given by your own good will to another one, absolutely gratis.

    OTHER WAYS OF EARNING WITH MMM

    1. REGISTRATION BONUS
    When registering in the system, you get from $20 to $100 as a present.

    2. REFERRAL BONUS
    You get 10% from all deposits of the participant you invited.

    3. GUIDER’S BONUS
    Guiders of MMM Community get bonus from 5% to 0.03% from their downline

    4. BONUS FOR THE VIDEO IN THE TESTIMONIALS
    Bonus for the video in a “Letter of happiness” is +5% or +1% of the amount of received help.

    HOW MMM WORKS
    After free registration, you declare the willingness to give help (click in your Personal Office (hereinafter PO) “Provide Help”), after which your account will be rewarded with mavro (internal “currency”/scores of the System). Mavros will start growing from the moment of offering the contribution at the rate of 30% per month. (Calculation of reward occurs twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 00:00 GMT.) This sum in Mavro shows how much you can request for yourself.

    Say you have announced willingness to assist with 10000 Naira. You will be rewarded in your PO with 10000 mavro. And they will immediately start growing! A month later, these 10000 will become 13000 mavro. Accordingly, you will be able to request assistance for 13000 Naira.

    OUR CANDID OPINION

    From our investigations, MMM is very new in Nigeria and is at a LOW RISK level. Several people including our Team members have made a fortune from investing in MMM and we feel that you can do same if you join within the next nine months because from our analysis, MMM is an opportunity that has SHORT TERM VIABILITY. This means that if you join MMM after the first 3 years in Nigeria, you would most likely have a HIGH RISK opportunity on your hands.

    We know that the best time to Join MMM is now because of the following reasons:

    1. Registration is Free: You can join MMM today for free and start providing help with it when you are ready unlike other similar networks and MLM that require specific registration fees or initial product purchase to join. In MMM it is totally up to you to decide how much money you would like to invest, and when you want to do so.

    2. No buying and selling of products and services: in MMM you do not have to buy or sell any products or services

    3. No monthly or annual fees (Autoship): Autoship and subscription fees are the hallmark of most MLM and network marketing programs but this is not so in MMM

    4. Money is not paid to the company: Most most MLM and network marketing programs have company accounts where people must make all payments to. If there is any challenge with the company, all the money is lost but in MMM, you receive money from and give money directly to other participants, making it impossible for anyone to run away with your money

    5. MMM has over 200 million Members worldwide so there will almost always be money in the system to pay participants.

    The list of advantages goes on and on but the truth is that you can make a huge amount of money from this opportunity if you join early.
    We encourage you to fill the registration form and register for free today. Afterwards, you can decide how much you would like to start with and our Team will guide you through the whole process.

    PLEASE KLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO REGISTER;
    http://nigeria-mmm.net/[email protected]

    1. YOUR FULL NAME

    2. EMAIL ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER (use international format e.g 234803111111 instead of 08031111111)

    3. PASSWORD (choose your password)

    4. CONFIRM PASSWORD (retype your password)

    5. PICTURE CODE: Put the code displayed in the picture (e.g G123).

    6. INVITE: This is already set to [email protected] . Don’t change it.

    7. GUIDER’S EMAIL AND GUIDER’S PHONE NUMBER [email protected] .

    If you experience any issues with registering by yourself or would like us to do the registration for you, kindly SMS or WHATSAPP your YOUR FULL NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER TO 07035615975 and we will do the registration for you and then send your login details to you via SMS and email.

    NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION AND STOP PASSING OVER OPPORTUNITIES !!!

    CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO REGISTER NOW FOR FREE
    http://nigeria-mmm.net/[email protected]
    If you experience any issues with registering by yourself or would like us to do the registration for you, kindly SMS or WHATSAPP your YOUR FULL NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER TO 07035615975 and we will do the registration for you and then send your login details to you via SMS and email.

    http://nigeria-mmm.net/[email protected]

    http://nigeria-mmm.net/[email protected]

    http://nigeria-mmm.net/[email protected]

    http://nigeria-mmm.net/[email protected]

  11. Some years back, a bank in Nigeria sank with my hard earned savings sand your govt and CBN did nothing to rescue me. Is it when MMM fails that they will appear? Now MMM is here to give Nigerians financial leverage and you are feeding the gullible ones with wrong information. I invest less than 10% of my money in this business. Eventually if it sinks I move ahead with my life. Please enough of your advice

  12. hmmmm !!!!!!!!!!! why are we saying QUICK RICH !!!! if Adams and Eve did not violate God rules, are we going to be struggling to survive….someone came with a straight idea that has helped up to 500,000 Nigerians, you are saying it is fake….the modality is that HELP ME, SOMEONE ELSE WILL HELP YOU….The useless CBN , SEC and other Government Agencies that are shouting that mmm is a wonder bank really know what they are saying….cos the gap between rich and poor has a bit close,,,cos someone that invest N1m on MMM and make Like N5m withing less than a year has been able to bold of buying 333,000 L

  13. Wale Kolade September 27, 2016 at 9:18 am
    hmmmm !!!!!!!!!!! why are we saying QUICK RICH !!!! if Adams and Eve did not violate God rules, are we going to be struggling to survive….someone came with a straight idea that has helped up to 500,000 Nigerians, you are saying it is fake….the modality is that HELP ME, SOMEONE ELSE WILL HELP YOU….The useless CBN , SEC and other Government Agencies that are shouting that mmm is a wonder bank really know what they are saying….cos the gap between rich and poor has a bit close,,,cos someone that has been working in petrol station for more than 10 years saved N1m and invest it MMM and make Like N5m withing less than a year has been able to be buying 33,000 litres of petrol from depot now….it make him move close from being a petrol attendant to oil dealer,,,,so shut up….and wisely he invest N1m on mmm now every month, but his business is still going, so even if mmm crashes, DID HE CRASHED?

  14. STAGE-MANAGED MEDIA PROPAGANDA CAN NEVER DETER US FROM MMM-NIGERIA.

    I will do My best to explain what really happened in MMM Zimbabwe in order to calm panics in the mind of misinformed MMM participants.*
    MMM Zimbabwe offers 100% mavro growth in 30days. This was implemented to attract participants due to the economic hardship in the country. This mavro growth for those of us in business is called market penetration.*
    Again their mavro was never frozen just like ours in Nigeria which multiplies for 15 days and also freezes for that long before withdrawal.*
    What happened in Zimbabwe is an implementation of what is already going on in Nigeria. MMM has seen that they don’t need no market penetration to attract participants. Their mavro growth was reduced from 100% to 20%. 10% below what we are getting in Nigeria(30%). And the mavro is also frozen for 14days just as its been done in Nigeria.*
    Nigerian Model works perfectly fine and MMM is trying to implement it globally. So there is no collapse of any structure, its just a remodelling of what is already in place in Nigeria*
    Again this is what happened in south African in April. They reduced their mavro growth from 50% or so to 30% and 20% with other schemes like lotteries introduced. And I can categorically tell you that the South African MMM community is growing faster and better than ever after that change and reduction in MAVRO growth.*
    Some other points to note is: The writer of all this piece flying around, has absolutely no knowledge of how MMM works, and the main aim of it is to cause panic. Zimbabwe MMM is still going on even with the 80% decrease in mavro growth.
    Did anyone lose their money? No. What happened is when u pledge 10k, instead of getting 20k reward in 30days, which is 100% reward, u get 12k which is 20% reward. They are still rewarded with 2k. In Nigeria we get 3k reward for 10k pledge.*
    So now did anyone lose their money? Absolutely NOT.
    Has it stopped MMM Zimbabwe from continuing? Not at all.
    The Nigerian Model of MMM Works perfectly so let’s keep it going. Lets continue to ph gh re ph re gh
    please note that MMM is not by force as it is not a ponzi scheme that depends on the money of new members for it sustenability
    So far the old participants continue to PH and GH the sytem continues and 30% is made unlike other networking scheme if new guys dont come on board in form of referrals that is the end. The old ones dont get paid. In MMM once you provide help you get help of 30% after 30 days.
    Mr. Blogger that is looking for traffic hope you would like this and next time get informed before doing your copy and paste. Thanks all the same for giving MMM a free publicity.

    LONG LIVE MMM-NIGERIA! LONG LIVE MAVRODI!!
    TOGETHER WE WOULD CHANGE THE WORLD.

  15. Pls, ask ursef how does bank operates… if u want to kno hw vulnerable ur bank is, let all customers decide to collect there money at dsame time, then u will see that no matter hw strong the bank is, it will definitely crash… so also is mmm, its an online money bank where individual acc plus the 30% is generated by individuals puttin money in2 it…whereby, in as much as pple keep bringing money in2 the system, den it wont crash…. even from the info u provided, d system neva crashed, its been an issue of panic and govt stepping in to either block the central acc (in the case of russia due to tax evasion) or freeze pple’s account (in south africA) so, be wise and be a risk taker… banks are meant to be givin such % buh they will neva do that becoz dey hav salaries to pay and rents to cover + dia greediness. Anyway, get it, get involved and shut d hell up if u ar nt interested…