The CEO of Tingo Group, Dozy Mmobuosi, will face charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States for falsifying financial statements and other records of three Tingo Group companies, including Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods PLC.
Charges against Dozy Mmobuosi and all three of Tingo’s subsidiaries include insider trading, lying to auditors, and neglecting to declare the sale of millions of common shares for which he was the ultimate beneficial owner, among other offenses against internal controls.
One month after the SEC formally opened an inquiry into Tingo Group, the accusations were announced. Additionally, the government halted trade in the agritech company’s shares.
“Mmobuosi made and caused the entities to make material misrepresentations about their business operations and financial success in press releases, periodic SEC filings.” Part of the SEC’s filing said.
The SEC also said Mmobuosi “fraudulently obtained hundreds of millions in money or property through these schemes, and that Mmobuosi has siphoned off funds for his personal benefit, including purchases of luxury cars and travel on private jets, as well as an unsuccessful attempt to acquire an English Football Club Premier League team, among other things.”
Tingo Group was the focus of an explosive study released by the well-known American short seller Hindenburg Group. The research company called Tingo Group a “exceptionally obvious scam with completely fabricated financials” in June 2023.
