An alleged ‘billionaire fraudster’ who lived a life of luxury and offered to save Sheffield United football club is now being hunted by the FBI after being accused of ‘fleecing’ investors and disappearing without a trace from his London home.
Nigerian-born Dozy Mmobuosi, 45, vanished from his luxurious Eccleston Square, London townhouse early last month, his neighbours told The Sunday Times.
He disappeared after US authorities charged him with securities fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and conspiracy charges following an FBI investigation.
He has been accused of ‘falsely representing’ his companies Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods and claiming they were ‘operational’, ‘profitable’ and ‘generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue’, the indictment states.
Mmobuosi, real name Odogwu Banye Mmobuosi, has been accused of ‘reaping millions of dollars in illicit profits’ through illegal share sales and ‘looting’ at least £16million from ‘publicly listed companies’.
He is understood to have purchased a fleet of Rolls Royces, employed bodyguards and a personal chef, and spent off at least £6.5million in a failed bid to Sheffield United football club.
He is also alleged to owe tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid rent to landlords in both London and Hertfordshire.
Mmobuosi, whose current whereabouts remain unknown, reportedly ‘popped up’ in Nigeria a few days ago to launch a food processing plant that he allegedly claims would create 12,000 jobs.
He and Tingo Group, his global Fintech and Agri-Fintech group of companies, deny all wrongdoing – but he is accused of almost ‘entirely fabricating’ his businesses accounts.
US prosecutors in Manhattan unveiled criminal charges against Mmobuosi in early January, saying he lied to investors about his companies’ finances.
They say Mmobuosi falsely represented that his Tingo Mobile cellular business and Tingo Foods agriculture business were profitable, generating hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue.
He sold both businesses to Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, caused them to falsely portray the businesses as ‘cash-rich, revenue-generating companies,’ and looted millions of dollars by misappropriating cash and selling stock at inflated prices, the indictment said.
The alleged scheme occurred from 2019 to 2023, according to prosecutors.
Mmobuosi temporarily stepped down as Tingo Group’s co-CEO on December 20 least year, two days after the SEC filed civil charges accusing him of orchestrating a ‘staggering’ fraud.
The SEC said Mmobuosi siphoned at least £12million ($16million) from Tingo Group. It said he used the money to buy his luxury cars and travel on private jets, and to try to buy the Sheffield United soccer team when it was in the lower Championship league.
He made payments of £343,000 and £378,000 to luxury car dealership HR Owen in 2022, the US court filings state.
It is not known what types of cars he purchased, but his neighbours told the Times he had Rolls-Royce Cullinan SUVs, a Rolls-Royce saloon and a Mercedes G-Class 4×4.
And according to the Times, he also splashed out the cash on expensive parties at exclusive hotels such as the Dorchester – spending £800,000 there between May 2022 and February 2023 alone.
The court filings also state that he transferred large funds of money, via intermediates, from a Tingo Group account to an account in his own name at the London branch of Swiss private bank EFG.
Mmobuosi was also touted as a potential saviour for Sheffield United and was linked to a £115 million takeover bid.
The African tycoon is also said to have pumped close to £9million into the Bramall Lane club to help the cash-strapped Blades fulfil their financial obligations on the expectation his protracted buy-out would be ratified early in 2023.
According to the SEC complaint, Tingo Mobile purports to supply mobile handsets and related services to farmers in Nigeria, while Tingo Foods is a purported food processor.
Tingo Group is a defendant in the SEC case, and has said it intended to vigorously defend itself.
The indictment was made public nearly seven months after the short-seller Hindenburg Research accused Tingo Group of having ‘fabricated’ its financials, and challenged Mmobuosi’s claim to have developed Nigeria’s first mobile payment app.
However, in a statement issued to the African press last month, Mmobuosi said: ‘I wish to make it unequivocally clear that these allegations are unfounded and we are preparing to contest them to the full extent of our capacity.’
He added: ‘I am resident in the United Kingdom and cannot be said to be at large.’
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
