By Immaculate Oluwanisola
Following the devastating collapse of the “EMAAR” digital investment platform, a coalition of aggrieved investors has announced plans to file a class-action lawsuit against Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. The legal action accuses the fintech unicorn of gross negligence, failure to protect users, and providing the primary financial infrastructure that enabled a shadowy syndicate to defraud over 4,000 Nigerians of billions of naira.
The controversy centers on a Moniepoint account held under the merchant name “CreditB-24H.”
Investigative reports from Saturday PUNCH reveal that this single account served as the collection point for thousands of victims who believed they were investing in a legitimate real estate venture.
Instead, the platform crashed on October 27, 2025, leaving families across Nigeria in financial ruin.
The Core Allegations:
Profit Over Protection?
The victims, who have taken to social media under hashtags like #HoldMoniepointAccountable, alleged that Moniepoint’s “Know Your Customer” (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols are fundamentally flawed.
Despite processing hundreds of high-value, suspicious transactions for a “virtual-only” company with no physical address, Moniepoint failed to trigger the “Post No Debit” (PND) restrictions required to halt the fraud in its tracks.
A Systemic Threat to the Public Interest
The lawsuit highlights a dangerous trend in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem. If the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fail to bring systemically important fintechs to order, the legal team warns of two catastrophic consequences for the public:
Total Erosion of Trust:
The recurring nature of these scams (following the N1.3 trillion CBEX collapse) threatens to drive millions of Nigerians back to the informal, unbanked economy, undoing a decade of financial inclusion progress.
Regulatory Impunity: Critics argue that Moniepoint’s recent $200 million Series C raise has created a “too big to care” mentality. Without swift intervention from the CBN, Moniepoint may continue to prioritize transaction volume and “unicorn” growth over the safety of the Nigerian masses.
The plaintiffs are demanding that the CBN conduct a full forensic audit of Moniepoint’s merchant onboarding processes and that the bank be held liable for the loss of funds facilitated through its infrastructure.
“The Nigerian regulatory body cannot remain a silent observer while the life savings of its citizens are drained through licensed institutions like Moniepoint,” stated the victims. “This lawsuit is not just about recovery; it is about ensuring that Moniepoint can never again hide behind a ‘technical glitch’ while enabling a national tragedy.”
About the EMAAR Scandal:
EMAAR was a fraudulent online investment portal that launched in mid-2025, promising high returns on real estate investments within 10 days. The scheme utilized fintech accounts, primarily Moniepoint, to collect deposits before disappearing in October 2025.
Over 4,000 victims have been identified to date.
