Bayelsa funds not trapped in our FOREX scheme – Cooperative

Barazar Multipurpose Cooperative Society,  a Yenagoa based group  engaged in foreign exchange trading, has denied purported botched investment scheme transactions  involving funds of  the Bayelsa government.

In a statement in Yenagoa on Tuesday,  Mr Miebi Briebina, Chief Executive of the society denied reports that the cooperative,  which offered investors ‘mouth watering’ 25 per cent monthly returns on capital, enjoyed  patronage of the Bayelsa government.

Barazar had since March, failed to meet its 25 per cent monthly returns payment obligations, thereby trapping funds running into billions of naira for its over 40,000 investors.

Following a  legal action by an aggrieved investor, a Bayelsa High Court on July 30,  froze the bank accounts of the society.

Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)  in April,  cautioned members of the public against  investment schemes that offered mouth watering returns for the safety of their hard earned money.

However,  Briebina described reports that the failed investment scheme enjoyed  patronage of  the Bayelsa government as false, noting that it  was  calculated to pitch the cooperative against the state government.

Briebina described the claims as pure blackmail and another attempt by mischief makers to drag the name of the cooperative in the mud.

“Baraza is not an affiliate of government or any of its agencies as being speculated  but a duly registered cooperative society,”   he stated.

The Bayelsa Commissioner for Information, Mr  Ayiba Duba on Tuesday. announced  that the state government had no affiliations with the cooperative.

The government advised aggrieved investors whose funds were trapped in the scheme and were  planning a protest to Bayelsa government house, Yenagoa,  to discard the idea and seek other peaceful means of resolving the issues with the cooperative.

“Members of Baraza multipurpose cooperative society ltd. are to note that it is  a private concern.

“Government is neither a party nor a witness to activities of the cooperative  and contract with its members.

“Therefore, any protest targeted at the state government in respect of the cooperative is ill-advised, misdirected and must not be carried out.

“Rather than straining the public peace, aggrieved investors and  management of Baraza are advised to explore peaceful means of resolving their issues.

“Furthermore, government urges people of Bayelsa and residents to shun any act that can  compromise  public order and security in the state,” Duba said.