The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Dozy Mmobuosi, the CEO of Tingo Group, to pay over $250 million and barred him from serving as a director of any public Company.
The SEC opened an investigation into Tingo Group in 2023 and filed charges against the company and its CEO in December. The company, which has often described itself as an agri-fintech and reported millions of dollars in revenue, was listed on the NASDAQ.
However, the SEC alleged that the company inflated its financial performance. One of its subsidiaries Tingo Mobile reported cash and cash equivalents of $461.7 million for 2022 in its Nigerian bank accounts, but its actual bank balance was less than $50, the SEC said.
“The judgments, entered on the basis of default, enjoin Mmobuosi, Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech Holdings, and Tingo International Holdings from violating the anti-fraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. “
Despite Tingo’s denial of the charges, the company and its CEO did not enter a defense in the civil complaint, said the Financial Times.
Judge Jesse M. Furman of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered Mmobuosi and his three US-based entities to pay more than $250mn in fines.
Despite its grand claims, Tingo has long been regarded as a curiosity, given how little was known about the company.