Émile Parfait Simb was almost unknown in Cameroon until he rose to prominence in the Bitcoin market. He portrayed himself as a humble youngster who became a multimillionaire through profitable investments.
He began his career as a computer teacher in a high school in Douala. Just when the world moved into the ‘era of cryptocurrencies,’ he abandoned his job and fled for Dubai, according to the Africa Report. In Dubai, he studied trading digital currencies, which were unfamiliar to the average Cameroonian at the time. He returned to his birth country with extensive bitcoin skills and began purchasing and speculating in cryptocurrencies.
According to the Africa Report, he quickly became the go-to person in Douala for exchanging paper currency for cryptocurrencies. Simb recognized a chance to profit as the crypto craze grew in Cameroon. He witnessed Cameroonian cryptocurrency merchants struggling with the computer language.
In 2017, he founded his first company, Global Investment Trading (GIT). GIT was a hybrid of a financial investment firm and a network marketing firm. Simb used GIT to offer investors profits ranging from 2% to 37%, depending on the package value. His company quickly earned a name for itself in the diaspora. And expanded to several African countries, having approximately 200,000 customers by the end of 2021.
The amount of transactions quickly drew the attention of local and international regulatory bodies. The Autorité des marchés financiers du Québec (Financial Markets Authority) of Canada alerted clients in 2021 about “fraudulent statements” made by GIT. The Commission de Surveillance du Marché Financier – Cosumaf (Financial Market Supervisory Commission) in Cameroon issued a warning about the company’s illegal public offers.
His downfall occurred in November 2021. Simb was unable to meet the interest rate he promised investors. He did, however, personally ensure consumers that interest on their principle would be paid. Subscribers who had formed a collective to suit Simb finally accused him of running a Ponzi scheme. They lodged accusations against Simb in Canada, the United States, and Cameroon.