Moniepoint Microfinance Bank and Kuda Bank are under mounting pressure from thousands of Nigerians seeking refunds after losing money to the collapsed EMAAR Ponzi scheme, with victims accusing the fintech platforms of failing to act decisively despite repeated petitions and transaction evidence.
According to Punch, customer-care lines at both Moniepoint and Kuda have been inundated for weeks by victims demanding answers over funds transferred through accounts on the two platforms to EMAAR operators before the scheme collapsed in October 2025.
The agitation follows revelations that more than 4,000 Nigerians may have lost between ₦1bn and ₦3bn to EMAAR, a fraudulent investment platform that promised triple returns on so-called virtual real estate projects before vanishing without warning.
Victims told Punch they are not accusing the banks of running the scheme but insist that the platforms enabled the transactions and should assist in tracing the operators, freezing accounts and facilitating refunds.
‘It all ended in tears’
In Abuja, a hairstylist, Ngozi Uchedike, said she lost ₦560,000 after making transfers to Moniepoint and Kuda accounts linked to EMAAR operators.
“I paid ₦150,000 to a Moniepoint account called Creditb-24h, then later sent ₦410,000 to two Kuda accounts,” she told Punch. “I believed it was legitimate because EMAAR is a known real estate name globally. It all ended in tears.”
After the platform crashed, Uchedike said both banks told her a court order was required before any action could be taken.
“How do I get a court order when I don’t even know where these people are?” she asked.
Similar stories emerged from victims across Plateau, Kaduna, Oyo and the Federal Capital Territory, many of whom say months after filing complaints, not a single naira has been refunded.
Accounts vanished, operators disappeared
EMAAR surfaced months after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) warned Nigerians in March 2025 against 58 unregistered investment schemes. Despite the alert, EMAAR gained traction rapidly, exploiting economic hardship, digital platforms and weak public awareness.
By late October, the platform went offline. User accounts were wiped, Telegram groups went silent and the operators disappeared without a trace.
A Kaduna-based victim, Philip Abila, told Punch he lost over ₦5m raised through loans, salary advances and the sale of his computer business assets.
“I borrowed from Okash, Branch, Palmpay, Direct Credit. I even sold my generators,” he said. “When I tried to withdraw, nothing came. The same week, the platform disappeared.”
Abila is now servicing debts of over ₦700,000 on a teacher’s salary.
Banks at the centre of anger
Cybersecurity experts told Punch that fintech platforms and microfinance banks have increasingly become channels for Ponzi operators, citing virtual accounts, weak identity controls and delayed fraud detection.
“N5,000 to N50,000 deposits from thousands of people look like normal peer-to-peer transfers,” said Jerahmeel Madumere, a cybersecurity researcher at King’s College London. “By the time red flags appear, the money is gone.”
Victims argue that if fintech platforms can onboard users quickly, they should also be able to trace and freeze fraudulent accounts before funds are dissipated.
What Moniepoint, Kuda said
Responding to the first part of the investigation, Moniepoint’s spokesperson, Bemigho Awala, told Sunday PUNCH that victims must formally notify their banks, report to the police and obtain court orders before refunds could be processed.
A Moniepoint official also disclosed that the account used by the fraudsters had been deactivated after being flagged for facilitating a Ponzi scheme, adding that most reported cases were being refunded where court orders were provided.
However, Punch reported that none of the victims interviewed confirmed receiving any refund despite repeated complaints.
Further attempts by Sunday PUNCH to obtain updates from Moniepoint and Kuda proved unsuccessful. Kuda’s Public Relations Specialist, Blossom Deji-Folutile, did not respond to messages as of the time of filing the report.
EFCC yet to confirm petitions
EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, told Punch he could not immediately confirm whether petitions had been received, citing the volume of complaints handled by the commission daily.
“It is too early to know. You may need to check back in a week or two,” he said.
For victims, the wait is becoming unbearable. As frustration deepens, pressure is mounting on Moniepoint, Kuda and regulators to explain how a scheme flagged in principle by authorities was still able to move billions of naira through Nigeria’s digital banking rails and why those funds now appear beyond reach.
