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Subscribe to RSSA yacht and dozens of Rolex watches bought by Nigeria’s stock exchange for a total of more than $868,000 went missing during an outbreak of share-price fixing, fraudulent accounting and insider trading, according to a report obtained by Reuters.
The yacht, worth $235,000, was meant to be given as a gift during an award ceremony in 2008, but there are no records of anyone receiving it, according to Arunma Oteh, director general of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission. The exchange also bought 165 Rolexes as prizes, but only 73 were actually presented.
"The outstanding 92 Rolex watches valued at 99.5 million naira (about $632,950) remain unaccounted for," Oteh said in a report that she presented to a Nigerian House of Representatives' committee that is investigating the scandal. The hearing took place Monday and Oteh’s report was obtained by Reuters Tuesday.
The abuses led to a financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 that saw shares lose 60 percent of their value in the year after the market peaked in March 2008.
"There were incidences of financial skimming, misappropriation, false accounting, misrepresentation, and questionable transactions," Oteh said in the report, according to Reuters.
She added that the market abuses were the “primary reasons for the continuation of the investor apathy that we see today."
The Nigerian Tribune newspaper reported Wednesday that Oteh had refused to appear at the hearing again on Tuesday and the chairman of the committee, Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi, had threatened to arrest her.
Oteh wrote to the committee saying she was unable to attend the ongoing hearing Tuesday as she was going to a meeting about the national economy chaired by the country's president, Goodluck Jonathan, according the paper.
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Nigeria in an e-mail suggests correcting this problem by makinh donations to Wall Street Stock Exchanges to keep them honest.
That's what they get for answering their own emails.
Nigeria is the filthiest, most thieving country on the planet.
No one should be the least bit supprized as to what transpires in that trash heap.
(On the other hand, they can't hold a candle to the disgusting Federal Reserve, our banking institutions, and our corrupt wall street thieves in shear volume of ongoing theft.)
Dude, where do you think the Nigerians learn their skills? I sure most of them studied in the U.S.
this sounds like our own wall street
Nigerian business can't be broke, I still receive about 6 emails a days asking to help import hundreds of millions of American dollars to my local bank... it must be real because they all say I will receive a large portion in commission... Hey, maybe we should start sending the government of Nigeria emails that we will help hide their money and see if they WILL send it
Yeah, but our wall street knows how to get around the laws and wouldn't make such stupid mistakes... I mean come on, an entire Yacht? Missing??? No, someone has it on the open waters laughing their a$$ off...
I wouldn't be surprised if the rolex's are fake...
This is no mystery if you have ever read a Nigerian E-mail sent to the US. "Open a checking account for us and we will send you money then then us money back". Not in this lifetime for me.
Someone in Nigeria was stupid enough to fall for one of their own scams..........
Buisness as usual in Africa.
Good luck Ms. Oteh... And 'Goodluck Jonathan' too!
I REALLY need to go work for the Nigerian stock exchange....
why would anyone invest their money in the nigerian stock exchange?
haha I'd rather invest in a nigerian email promising riches if I send them 10,000.00 LOL
There is no mystery here. This stuff is in the hands of the senior members of Nigeria's 'securities and exchange commission' or whatever it is called there, just to pad their pockets. The corruption is rampant there just as it is in the big financial institutions in the US, except there is less money to go around. A boat that only cost $225,000 is fairly small and should be easy to hide off the Nigerian coast -- running drugs and guns.
No surprise here, having worked there it truly is the armpit of Africa.
Africa is different, I have also worked throughout the continent, however, in 40 years of traveling the globe, Nigeria is the only place I have felt in fear for my life just by being there, it really is a cess pit of a place.
Fraud in Nigeria? Say it ain't so....
Like everyone has said, no surprise, except the fact people neglect to mention THE PRESIDENTS NAME IS A PHRASE.
Shocks... another scam brought to you by Nigeria.
This just shows how much ahead we are. Now if we could just get a new president from other than African roots...
Yeah. a multi millionaire capitalistic mormon will be sooo much better. I am writing in Ted Nugent.......
Maybe theyare in training to wrest away the pirate capitol of the world catagory from Somolia.
Could this be a scam to get donations?????????????????
Where is Tarzan when you need him.
What is it with shiny things and black people?
can anyone remember that just before Mr. President CLINTON left office he gave NIGERIA A 1 BILLION DOLLAR GIFT!
That bought a tremendous amount of real estate in Malibu...NYC... Boca... South Beach... oh, and watches too!
A scam in Nigeria, this can't be true. Nigeria and the people there deserve nothing. They are a bunch of low life scammers.
$235,000 is not a yacht, it's a boat...
Kind Sirs I have been appointed administrator of an estate of a political prisoner being held outside my country of Nigeria and I am looking for someone to take title of a yacht and a few dozen Rolex watches. If you would be so kind as to give me your social security number, address, phone records, bank account information, date of birth, place of your chilld's schooling, I will hasten to procure these items to you in your name. I am aware that you live in Nebraska and as such finding a dock for a yacht will be troublesome so I will include 75 million dollars for dock fees in the transaction. Please email me back at your earliest convenience to discuss terms Cordially Prince of Brooklyn
Seems legit!
I BET this is HAPPENING as we speak in the U.S.A to which their is SCANT CONTROLS, OR TRANSPARENCY because CONGRESS and the GREED & MONEY REGIME DO NOT WANT REGULATIONS.
The COVER up is certainly there! So Nigeria is no different than US !!
When a countries super rich has access to this kind of money, while the country is designated as a poor populace, there will be corruption... it has been over 4 years for this to come to light. There is not one country in the world that does not have some level of corruption within it.
In Russia, Putin is enormously wealthy - this with him being accused of murder, he had bullied through intimidation and ordering assassinations of rivals to gain extradinary power.
No country is immune... Power brings money and money brings power...
Someone took the money and items and ran...
Say it isn't so. Fraud, theft and corruption in Nigeria! Wow. I'm shocked! LOL
Really! Dishonesty in Nigeria? OMG! Hard to understand or believe.
Nigeria is where all those scams emails telling you have won a huge amount of money from a bank, and many other scams. They are the world experts on dishonesty
Yes but they took lessons every day for years & years, ... from Americano POLITITIONS and their AIDES uno. THEY studied LONG & HARD TOO. Now they have it down PAT & can run serious competition with thaa ZETAAS, for Meximericano doeh-llarz/pesos/euros.
Probably that Nigerian Prince has them all ! Maybe I will buy them from him after I get the millions he promised me . Hope he got my bank accounts #'s and passwords by now.
Had to break the news about his Nigerian investments to Mr. Bill. He said, "Oh nooooooooo."
African politics, since the 1600's when many Tribal Leaders sold their own people, (thousands of people over the years) into slavery for profit, has been a filthy business...Still is and always will be. Greed and avarice knows no boundaries...racial, political, or social... They should be proud of themselves, medical donations get sold for profit, food donations get sold for profit, women and children get sold for profit...But what is the most sad... the Royal family knows about it all, and the political leadership is a part of it.
What a shining beacon of hope...
One of those watches is mine! I was told so in an e-mail from a stock exchange official in Nigeria. All I had to do was send a shipping fee and customs document fee of 5k to retrieve it. Isn't that strange? :)