The head of Muslim investment website, Muslim Pioneer, has become embroiled in what appears to be a major investment fraud scandal after being accused by multiple clients of running a “Ponzi scheme.”
Aaqib Ahmed, the founder of Muslim Pioneer, has been accused of taking significant sums of money based on lucrative promises of high returns on investments whilst knowing he couldn’t produce the returns expected.
Additionally, Mr Ahmed has been accused of moving clients’ money around to make it appear that investors where receiving a genuine return when in fact it was just money taken from other investors.
Yesterday, 5Pillars was granted access to a WhatsApp group called “Victims of Aaqib Ahmed.” The group, which contains well over 100 members, is awash with complaints and stories of alleged victims of Mr Ahmed who say their money has been lost or stollen.
Mr Ahmed, who has been reported to Action Fraud and the police, has subsequently admitted to business “shortcomings” and has pledged to repay his clients.
Confession video
As the story began to spread like wildfire across throughout the UK Muslim community, with more and more testimonies surfacing across WhatsApp or social media, a video emerged which includes an apparent “confession” by Mr Ahmed.
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Mr Ahmed can been seen speaking via Zoom about the unfolding scandal with what appears to be former business partners. However, it isn’t clear who he was speaking to or when the video was recorded.
The interviewer said: “Bro you have made tens of millions, where have you put this money?”
Mr Ahmed replied: “It went back into paying the clients and the team…”
Interviewer: “Bro, it can’t all go into paying back the team… is there anywhere else that you invested the money in?”
Mr Ahmed: “No, I haven’t. I’ve not put money anywhere else. It’s only what you guys have seen.”
The interviewer then replied: “Well, I haven’t seen anything…”
As the video continued, Mr Ahmed appeared to offer a confession to the claims he was running a Ponzi scheme.
“So everything you ever showed us was essentially lies because it was a Ponzi scheme from the beginning?” Aaqib Ahmed responded by mumbling: “Yeah…”
When asked what he believed the amount of debt was for clients to be returned their original investments, Mr Ahmed responded that he wasn’t sure exactly but estimated it sat somewhere between 5 to 10 million pounds.
At one stage during the talk, Mr Ahmed breaks down and cries.
“My wife is going to divorce me I think. I just want to come clean. I’ve been dishonest. I’ve made mistakes. I should have opened up earlier. I just want to come clean.”
The original 11 minute exchange was leaked on to the “victims” Whatsapp group by an anonymous source. It is unclear whether Mr Ahmed was aware the conversation would be shared on the group chat.
Aaqib Ahmed and Muslim Pioneer
Aaqib Ahmed is a self-described “legacypreneur” who founded the investment platform Muslim Pioneer in 2009, according to his Linkedin account.
The Muslim Pioneer website describes the brand as a movement that aims to “empower and elevate the Muslim community” by fostering a faith-centered ecosystem that supports halal online businesses.
It was heavily promoted on social media as well as Islam Channel. It was even a sponsor of Islam Channel’s recent Global Peace and Unity event, although 5Pillars understands that Islam Channel has now stopped running Muslim Pioneer adverts.
Services Muslim Pioneer provided included mentoring and coaching programs to help Muslim entrepreneurs “build successful online ventures.”
According to the website, Muslim Pioneer members have generated over £350,000,000 across their online businesses and helped generate over £1B revenue for their clients in total.
Legacyprenuer University (Legacy) and The Done For You (DFY) Programme were such packages offered by Muslim Pioneer that provides “business in a box” solutions to Muslims wanting to grow their money.
Legacy is a Facebook marketing course which 5Pillars understands performed well in its early stages after its launch some time after 2017.
However, after sales dramatically sank by 2020 Mr Ahmed was struggling to find new clients or customers willing to buy the course.
The DFY programme was later launched around 2023 which made major promises of big returns for clients who invested.
The DFY appears to be at the centre of the allegations of a Ponzi scheme as allegedly any clients who invested in DFY were not provided genuine returns, just money from a pot which came from other clients.
Money was allegedly moved around leading investors to believe they where receiving genuine returns and therefore were encouraged to invest more money.
Since the scandal went public, all payouts have been stopped with investors being given vague promises of a refund on their original investment at a later date.
It remains unclear how any of the money will be returned or exactly how much debt Muslim Pioneer is in.
Questions surrounding Muslim Pioneer have been raised before.
One of the celebrities referenced on its website was renowned Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik. who published a video in September 2024, rubbishing claims he had any links to Muslim Pioneer after he became aware of his image being used on its website, depicting him and Aaqib Ahmed during a Zoom meeting.
In the video Dr Naik said: “I do not know Muslim Pioneer. I don’t know Aaqib Ahmed personally. But such companies which produce ads (using prominent Muslim’s images) without permission, they are mostly frauds. I don’t know Aaqib Ahmed at all and what he is doing is total haram.”
Aaqib Ahmed’s statement
5Pillars reached out to Mr Ahmed for a statement regarding Muslim Pioneer and the alleged Ponzi scheme scandal.
He responded with the following statement where he claims he was “threatened and pressured” to make certain statements but he is “committed” to working with investors to return their funds.
“I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to update you on the current situation regarding Muslim Pioneer and the DYF programme, which I have been running for over a decade. My primary aim has always been to empower individuals and enhance their financial well-being through our initiatives.
“Unfortunately, due to some shortcomings on my part and within my team, the business has faced significant challenges that have ultimately led to its current breakdown.
“I acknowledge the impact this has had, and I want to assure you that I am fully committed to working with all investors to return their funds. This commitment has been clearly outlined in my official letters and statements.
“Additionally, I have been threatened and pressured by many including my own team who pressured and trapped me to make certain statements. As a result of all this, I am currently in the process of pursuing legal action alongside a police report. Despite these challenges, I remain dedicated to finding amicable solutions to resolve the situation and return the original investments. All my communication has been clear on this point.
“Thank you for your understanding and support during this difficult time. I look forward to working together to navigate these challenges.
“Best regards, Aaqib”
Ponzi schemes
A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors.
Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, this type of scheme misleads investors by either falsely suggesting that profits are derived from legitimate business activities (whereas the business activities are non-existent), or by exaggerating the extent and profitability of the legitimate business activities.
Ponzi schemes are considered a type of investment fraud. You can go to jail for operating, selling or promoting a Ponzi scheme in England and Wales. Fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment if convicted on indictment.
Speaking to 5Pillars, the CEO of Islamic Finance Guru Ibrahim Khan said: “Like any scam, Ponzi schemes appear legitimate on the surface, but are an incredibly malicious and cruel way of parting the victims with their money.
“What makes them so powerful is because – unlike most scams – they actually initially appear to be delivering on the promise of incredible returns. This then lowers any natural caution people have to new investments and they end up putting in far more than they can afford to lose.”
