By Ghazali Ibrahim
At least three Nigerian nationals residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reportedly lost their earnings and life savings after a Dubai-based Ponzi scheme, Gulf First Commercial Brokers, abruptly shut down and vanished without a trace.
The scheme reportedly crash last month, taking with it multimillion-dollar investments from victims of various nationalities.
According to Peoples Gazette, the affected Nigerians, Usman Jimeta, Kelvin Nnadozie, and Ronke Oladiran were among numbers of investors who were blindsided by the fraudulent outfit’s sudden disappearance last month.
“We went there four times since they suddenly shut down last month, but we didn’t meet anyone,” Ms Oladiran said.
“They just vanished overnight,” she clarified.
Mr Jimeta revealed he lost $17,000 to the scheme, while the other two victims declined to disclose the exact amounts they had invested.
The scam, which operated from Suite 302, Capital Golden Tower in Dubai’s Business Bay, reportedly employed over 40 staff members of different races before shuttering its office without notice.
UAE-based Newspaper, Khaleej Times reported that many of the defrauded investors, primarily Indians and Nigerians, were lured into the scheme through aggressive marketing and promises of secure returns via an unregulated trading platform called Sigma-One Capital.
The scheme allegedly used in-person meetings and phone conversations to win investors’ trust, creating a false sense of legitimacy.
Victims say the disappearance was abrupt and without any warning signs.
The collapse of Gulf First Commercial Brokers comes just weeks after a similar scam in Nigeria left thousands devastated.
The Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX), a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme operating out of Ibadan, Nigeria, duped investors by claiming it could double their deposits within 40 days.
The scheme also offered a 12% signal boost to users who referred new investors.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) later confirmed that funds tied to CBEX were traced across multiple countries and that several perpetrators had been arrested, including foreign nationals.
However, the agency warned that full restitution for all victims may not be possible.
