Adeosun alerts to fraud syndicate in VAIDS

• NDIC warns on activities of illegal fund managers

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has alerted taxpayers of the presence of a fraudulent syndicate masquerading as officials of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).

Their intention is to defraud citizens through phoney calls to their victims requesting for their residential addresses and bank details.But Adeosun advised citizens to demand from them written notices and not to divulge any bank details or addresses by phone.She gave this advice in response to the activities of some fake tax officials parading themselves as officials of VAIDS.
 
In a statement yesterday by her Special Adviser on Communications, Mr. Oluyinka Akintunde, the minister said, “My attention has been drawn to reports of some unidentified tax officials requesting for bank details and address of tax payers.
 
“If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from the tax office, do not panic. Ask them to send you a written notice. Do not provide any details like your address or bank details,” she urged.

VAIDS, the tax amnesty programme of the Federal Government for tax defaulters ends at the end of this month and the minister has promised to expose and deal with those that fail to take the advantage of this opportunity to regularise their tax commitment to government.
 
Meanwhile, the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and the Minister has honoured a consistent taxpayer, Elder Lema Jibrin during the VAIDS sensitisation programme in Kaduna.The governor noted that Jibrin had consistently paid tax to the government for 40 years.
 
Adeosun praised Jibrin for his consistency and diligence in tax payment, and urged taxpayers to utilise the amnesty programme to regularise their tax profiles.In another development, officials of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) have warned Nigerians against the activities and operations of illegal funds managers, otherwise known as wonder banks and other illicit investment schemes in the country.

According to NDIC, despite the extensive public enlightenment to sensitise Nigerians on the dangers posed by the illegal fund managers,
several people have continued to fall prey to them by losing fortunes and their life savings to such Ponzi schemes, on the pretext of offering extra-ordinary interest rates and profits to them.

The Managing Director of NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, who spoke at the 39th Kaduna International Trade Fair stated that NDIC placed notification recently on the dangers associated “in dealing with Bitcoin and other Crypto-Currencies.”He said that the enlightenment of Nigerians was necessary because “digital currencies do not belong to the category of currencies or coins issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or Central Bank of any other country.”

Ibrahim argued: “digital currencies are not backed by any physical commodity, such as gold. Digital currencies are not deposits or instruments authorized by the CBN. Therefore, they are not insured by the NDIC.”

The NDIC boss who was represented at the fair by the Director, Insurance and Surveillance Department, Alhaji Mohammed Umar,pointed out that the Corporation has continued to monitor the health of all banking and financial institutions operating in the country to ensure that they comply with regulations.