Augustine Ngegba Putan, Manager of Examinations and Compliance for the Financial Intelligence Unit Sierra Leone, says they’ve frozen 3.4 billion Leones from the Super Advertis scam. He said, the money is between AfriMoney and OrangeMoney virtual wallets, and nobody can access it.
According to Putan, they are conducting an investigation and will return money to individuals who can provide evidence of their transactions once it is complete.
Putan also mentioned a similar financial fraud situation that occurred in Bo, the second capital of Sierra Leone. He stated that many people were scammed through a scheme called mycoin. According to him, the FIU investigated fraudulent transactions in Bo, and people came forward with evidence. They were compensated for their losses. However, a listener named Brima Kamara disputed this claim during a live radio interview with Putan, Kamara wrote on the Facebook live-streaming page that no payments were made to citizens who participated in the verification process at the Anti-Corruption Commission office in Bo.
Last year, a company called Super Advertise operated a scheme in Sierra Leone where individuals were asked to perform tasks on their website in exchange for rewards. They claimed that the more money invested for a longer period, the higher the profits. Many people fell for this scheme and invested significant amounts of money. After Orange Mobile Company publicly distanced itself from Super Advertise, the company went underground, its office staff went into hiding, and its mobile app was removed from the Google Play store.
Putan emphasized during the interview that operating a financial institution in Sierra Leone requires a license from the Bank of Sierra Leone. According to him, Super Advertise didn’t get a license. They only registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission and started their operations. Putan stated that they became aware of Super Advertise in November and initiated investigations. They contacted OrangeMoney and AfriMoney to inquire about any formal agreements with Super Advertise. Following a two-hour meeting, it was clear that both mobile money providers had no connection to Super Advertise. Also, Putan said Super Advertis is owned by a Chinese national who recruits Sierra Leoneans.
