September 18, (THEWILL) –Socialite and founder of FarmKonnect Agribusiness Nigeria Limited, Oluwole Azeez Saheed, has been declared wanted by the Police for investment fraud worth over N50 million.
A special police gazette bulletin has been put out, following a warrant of arrest/bench warrant issued by a Magistrate Court in Lagos. Saheed is wanted for criminal conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretense, fraud, and stealing with social media space and medium advertising investment.
The notice to declare him wanted followed a petition by Chive GPS, a security intelligence company that tracks evasive, fraudulent debtors all over the world in a bid to recover funds, to place him on Interpol global red notice for obtaining money by false pretense and investment fraud.
Sometime in 2019, Azeez through FarmKonnect invaded the social media space and other mediums advertising for investment and posed as an investment mogul that can manage the public’s funds in various agricultural enterprises in exchange for fixed return at a predetermined rate and duration.
“Oblivious of the large-scale fraud ahead, our clients transferred, at various times the sum of Fifty Million Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N50,500,000) into the corporate accounts of FarmKonnect Agribusiness Nigeria Ltd.
The proposed transaction was packaged and designed to yield fixed interests. However, upon expiration of the investment, the chief mastermind, Saheed stopped any form of communications with our clients and have since become evasive, switched off their phones, and are currently unreachable,” the petition read.
A few years ago, when Saheed floated FarmKonnect, many assumed it was a legitimate means to invest their hard-earned money, particularly because Saheed used his connection to get quite a number of prominent and respected personalities to endorse his investment scheme.
With delays in paying dividends, Farmkonnect explained it away, saying its business administration, operations, trade, and communication were being handed over to third-party companies as part of its effort to restructure the business.
It added that the company would stop all profit accrual models and work towards refunding all investments, within the shortest time possible whilst also noting that the CEO, that is Saheed will not be available on mobile phone and emails for the next 3 months for health reasons.
However, after being declared wanted, 49-year-old Saheed has denied he is on the run. According to his attorney, Ajibola Lawal Esq, FarmKonnect is still viable despite going through some business crises. But that, quite unlike other businesses that have gone south and down the drain, efforts are being made to revive and stabilize FarmKonnect.
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