Maureen Abarugu, a Lagos-based entrepreneur, has accused Emmanuel Elue of Emmalich Ventures of misappropriating the funds she collected while working with the firm and leaving her to bear the financial burden of his action.
The entrepreneur told FIJ that she had had reasons to visit two police stations to retrieve the money meant for the customers she registered as an employee of Emmalich Ventures but that changed too little.
She stated that customers saved up to N284,700 each but Elue only paid N32,000 while she paid N192,560, leaving N60,200.
Recounting the sequence of events, Abarugu explained that she joined the company as a savings collector in August 2021 and began collecting money from existing customers as required.
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But when it came time to disburse the funds to the customers in December 2021, Elue violated their agreement by not returning their savings and instead offered various excuses.
According to Abarugu, Elue promised to pay by January 2022 when the pressure from angry customers became serious, but he failed again to do so.
Abarugu’s recording book
“This resulted in the customers coming to my house to harass me. They even threatened my life. I kept on asking Elue for the money and even went to the office but eventually, the company was closed,” Abaragu told FIJ.
Recognising the seriousness of the situation, the landlord of the office building took the case to the Isheri Police Station. In a statement to the police, Elue promised to repay the owed customers by April 2022.
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She said the Isheri police asked her to bring all the cards to the police station but when she did, they gave him everything. At that point, she knew there was little hope.
A copy of customer’s contribution card
“I then took the case to Area M, Idimu Area Command, where I wrote a petition. After the petition, they invited Elue and he agreed to pay the money, but on the stated day, he only brought N32,000,” she recalled.
“After that, he promised to continue payment, but he did not come to the police station on the following payment date. I continued to go to the station, but they insisted I stop coming. They said that whenever he brought the money, they would let me know.
“I had no option than to forget the case. I called, but he kept declining. I took the case to a human rights activists, but he said he would pay the money. I had no choice but to pay most of the customers with my money. Now, only three customers are left, but I am financially incapacitated. Even worse, he owes me three months’ salary.”
When FIJ contacted Elue over the phone, he first feigned ignorance, and then he said he had nothing to say.
“I don’t know what her problem is, because I don’t know what to say. I am busy right now,” he said.
The post Emmalich Ventures CEO Embezzles Customers’ Savings, Leaves Employee Owed 3 Months’ Pay to Bear the Brunt appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.