Recession: Nigerians Besiege MMM Website

Inspite warnings by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mavrodi Mundial Movement (MMM) scheme has won several hearts across Nigerians, no thanks to the recession.

МММ was a Russian company that perpetrated one of the world’s largest Ponzi schemes of all time, in the 1990s, according to economists, by different estimates from 5 to 40 million people lost up to $10 billion.

The exact figures are not known even to the founders, Wikipedia said.

According to Alexa Internet, Inc., a California-based company that provides commercial web traffic data and analytics, aside Google, Google.com.ng, YouTube.com and Yahoo.com, Mmmoffice.com is the next most visited website by Nigerians.

It recorded that ‎MMMoffice.com rose 40,385 places through the ranks; surpassing Jumia and Nairaland as well as Facebook.‎

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek‘s findings show that ‎on the eleventh position is Nigeria-mmm.net, ‎

The promoters described MMM as “a community of people providing each other financial help on the principle of gratuitousness, reciprocity and benevolence.

“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”.

But, CBN had warned Nigerians that MMM activities and related schemes were not regulated by it.
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The apex bank’s warning is coming at a time when the huge unemployment situation in the country is making a lot of people to take interest in an online investment scheme tagged: ‘MMM Federal Republic of Nigeria (nigeria.mmm.net)’.

The platform has embarked on an aggressive online media campaign to lure the investing public to participate in what it called “mutual aid financial network,” with a monthly investment return of 30 per cent.

Hajiya Kadija Kassim, ‎head, Consumer Protection Department, CBN, described the scheme as fraudulent since it was not supported by any business model.

She said, “We have heard about the activities of MMM, but I want to warn you against it because they are wonder banks that are not regulated.

“Desist from their activities because they are fraudulent.”

She said the theme of this year’s World Savings Day, ‘Don’t save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving’, would assist in creating the needed awareness on the need to save.

She added, “The World Savings Day is a tradition created with the objective of stressing the importance of savings for modern economies and individuals alike.

“The primary objective is to increase awareness on financial literacy among various segments of the general public to sensitise them to the importance of saving, earning a livelihood, inculcating a savings habit, and generating employment and entrepreneurship for personal and national development.”‎

MMM was established in 1989 by Sergei Mavrodi, his brother Vyacheslav Mavrodi, and Olga Melnikova.

The name of the company was taken from the first letters of the three founders’ surnames.‎
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