US SEC charges Tingo auditor, Olayinka Oyebola, for allegedly aiding fraud

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Olayinka Oyebola and his accounting firm, Olayinka Oyebola & Co. (Chartered Accountants), for allegedly aiding and abetting securities fraud perpetrated by Dozy Mmobuosi, the chief executive officer of Tingo Group.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Oyebola and his firm with aiding and abetting Mmobuosi and the three Tingo entities’ violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.

The Commission is also charging Oyebola with aiding and abetting Mmobuosi’s violation of lying to auditors.

“As alleged, Oyebola and his firm violated the public trust and abdicated their responsibilities as public company accountants and auditors by helping Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities effectuate and conceal their fraud,” said Antonia M. Apps, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office. “We will not hesitate to hold gatekeepers to the public markets accountable when they facilitate fiction rather than truth.”

Read also: US court orders Tingo CEO to pay $250m fine

The SEC is seeking civil penalties and permanent injunctive relief, including an order permanently barring Oyebola and his firm from acting as auditors or accountants for U.S. public companies or providing substantial assistance in preparing financial statements filed with the SEC.

In September, the SEC obtained a final judgment of $250 million against Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities. In 2023, the SEC charged Mmobuosi and three of his companies, including two Nasdaq-listed enterprises, with fraud for inflating the financial performance of the companies and key operating subsidiaries to defraud investors worldwide.

SEC revealed that while Tingo Group, in its fiscal year 2022 Form 10-K filed in March 2023, reported a cash and cash equivalent balance of $461.7 million in its subsidiary Tingo Mobile’s Nigerian bank accounts, it only had a combined balance of less than $50 as of the end of the fiscal year 2022.