The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Precious Williams, a director of Glossolalia Nigeria Ltd and Pelegend Nigeria Ltd, over an alleged N13.8 billion fraud linked to a Ponzi scheme operated by fugitive financier Maxwell Chizi Odum.
Williams was brought before Justice S.I. Mark at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on a 14-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretences, advance fee fraud, and money laundering.
According to EFCC prosecutors, Williams allegedly received and laundered billions of naira traced to Odum and his firm, MBA Trading and Capital Investment Limited. The company is accused of defrauding over 3,000 Nigerians by promising monthly returns of 10–15% on bogus investment packages.
One of the charges reads:
“That you, Precious Williams… took possession of the sum of Ten Billion Naira… when you reasonably ought to have known that the said funds formed part of the proceeds of unlawful activities… of obtaining money under false pretence… thereby committing an offence under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.”
Williams pleaded not guilty to all charges. EFCC counsel E.K. Bakam requested her remand and a trial date, while defence counsel Tochukwu Maduka, SAN, asked the court to consider her bail application. The EFCC, however, opposed the motion, citing that the bail application was premature as it had been filed before the amended charges were formally presented.
Justice Mark ordered that Williams be remanded in the Port Harcourt Correctional Center and adjourned the matter to June 17, 2025, for the bail hearing.
The case is one of several legal actions the EFCC has taken since Odum was declared wanted in 2021. The anti-graft agency continues to investigate and prosecute associates of the now-defunct MBA Trading and Capital Investment Limited, which is at the centre of one of Nigeria’s largest Ponzi scheme scandals.
EFCC officials confirmed that Williams was arrested in April 2021 following multiple petitions from victims, who claim she facilitated the laundering of their funds under false pretences.