2.7 Million Nigerians Lose N89.4 Billion as BBHTV, Ponzi Scheme Collapses

Over 2. 7 million Nigerians have reportedly lost some N89.4 billion to BBHTV, a Ponzi scheme after Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) froze its accounts.

For the five months it lasted, about 2. 7 million Nigerians, who are now victims, considered themselves most fortunate.

According to New Telegraph, the victims probably believed God, in His mercies, sent down BBHTV from heaven to mitigate pains inflicted on them by the current excruciating national economic crisis. For sitting down at home, watching videos (described as a performance of TASK), they were earning fabulous amounts of money daily, in line with the member’s (also called employee) level.

There were mouthwatering bonuses upon bonuses, a trend that would have produced many millionaires in a year but for the crash of the scheme last week.

As reported by New Telegraph, with the announcement last week that all its accounts have been frozen, BBHTV, which sneaked into the life of Nigerians as a lifesaving interventionist programme at a time of economic crisis, would go down in history as the second biggest scam in Nigeria after the MMM Ponzi Scheme, which crashed in 2017.

The latest development, which the victims said unknown to them was a Ponzi Scheme, has left over 2.7 million Nigerians losing billion of naira few days ago after the company, BBHTV’ announced to the victims (who it called employees) that the Federal Inland Revenue Service has frozen its accounts over issues of payment of Personal Income Tax.

The said frozen account, according to the faceless operators, holds a whopping sum of N89.4 billion. An employee, who said his personal loss was N1.5 million, said: “I have been seriously down since this happened. I finally completed my treatment today(Wednesday). I am broken not because of the money I lost but the people I convinced to join BBHTV. As it is, I am looking for money to pay some money back to them, even if a widow in my area is involved because I thought I was helping her not knowing that I am going to cause more problems to her.”

Rev. Dr. Peter Ejemurua, who mobilized over 800 members of his church to join the group and is well regarded in the BBHTV said; “It is so unfortunate that this has happened. My name is being slandered when I’m innocent….We saw that this job looked legit and I introduced my family and church members and paid for them, so we all could benefit. As I was withdrawing, I did my best to upgrade them and myself.

In fact, I just upgraded to P8 with the money I had left before this whole thing happened. “I have read all the insults and backlash- es coming from people and I take them in good faith. I have lost greatly but I know the wicked will not go free. I am a Servant of God and I have been in ministry for over 50 years. Soon, I’ll be 80 and will always stand for the truth!” A certain Chidiebere, who is one of the admins said: “A lot of you are thinking that I am one of them but I am a victim too.

“I refused to talk because it came as a shock to me. Actually, this is my first time involving myself in online business. I know there is genuine online businesses. When I saw BBH, I thought I had found it. “Based on the business discussion I had with Serena, who is in charge of the UK certificate registration, the steps taken by one of us for Nigeria CAC registration, the opening of 22 offices, I believed it was real and genuine. “I resigned from work to do this BBH because of the assurance and how convinced I was.

“It was going smoothly and got sweeter when rewards and subsidies were introduced. “A lot of people wouldn’t have lost much if not for upgrades and subsidies. Wallet was promising and everyone was happy. Until it suddenly got to this point of tax payment.”

BBHTV or BBH Films Nigeria limited

A Google search on BBHTV showed that the company was registered as BBH Films Nigeria Limited, which is an arm of the BBH Global, a London based company.

It claims to have an active online presence, showing what it does and how one can join it.

How-ever, it introduces itself as an online business company, which has strong profitability and a complete industrial chain. It says that its employee-centered philosophy helps Nigeria people get out of life’s difficulties.

The faceless operators (no verifiable or personal contact in Nigeria, Serena, the Hiring Manager has a foreign phone line) who brought the company to Nigeria, also claimed that the company is an arm of the BBH Global, the UK Company. BBH Films Nigeria Limited was incorporated in Nigeria three months ago, according to information on the company’s site. However, indications were that the company was never registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) as Dr. Peter Ejeruma, who was supposed to handle their CAC registration was told to suspend it when they announced the freezing of its accounts.

BBH TV and its ‘employees’ (depositors)

On the platforms used to attract Nigerians to join the scheme, the company claimed that it does not rely on people’s deposits to make profit. Its profits, according to the Hiring Manager (aka Serena), come from promotion fees paid by film and television companies around the world.

“We use this profit to pay our employees,” she said. They claimed that the company was set up by three friends in the United Kingdom in 2018.

They added that it is world-renowned for its creative and efficient advertising agency; based in business centres of major cities.

They further claimed that within the five months, it has been in Nigeria, it has created partnerships with major foreign film companies and urged the ‘employees’ to cooperate with the company by completing their tasks effectively to earn good income to better the lots of their families.

They cautioned employees that to make money in BBH, you need to work, rather than investing. But in another breath, the employees were presented with different investment options to earn bonuses and for upgrades.

In their last September meeting, Serena claimed that they have already exhausted N12.36 billion in the first round of ‘special funds’, and remaining special funds were about N2.6 billion, saying that the special funds used to carry out recruitment activities are limited.

She urged members to actively participate in the activities organized by the company and create income for themselves.

However, during their October 1st meeting, a certain Alice, who says she is the Assistant to Mr. Williams Jonah, regional marketing manager, West Africa, said with support from their BBH UK Headquarters, through preferential activities and recruitment activities, the company’s online employees have exceeded 2.7 million.