A large financial pyramid that has been operating since 2012 in six regions. Fraudsters offered citizens to invest money at high interest rates - up to 60% per annum. More than 3 thousand people suffered from the actions of the attackers, and the total financial damage amounted to 1 billion rubles. TASS - about what a financial pyramid is and how to recognize the "MMM" of the 21st century.
Financial pyramids went to the regions
The number of pyramid schemes has more than tripled since 2014, the Central Bank of Russia reported. If four years ago the regulator identified 450 organizations operating on the pyramid principle, then in 2016 - 180, and in the first half of 2017 - a little over 100. At the same time, most of them do not aim at the federal scale, but quietly move from region to region .
The first reason for the reduction of the pyramids, according to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, is that in 2016 in Russia appeared criminal liability for their creation. Previously, the organizers of fraudulent schemes were brought to court under article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Fraud”), or their firms were closed for non-compliance with business rules.
Now Article 172.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is in force ("Organization of activities to attract Money or other property"). Punishment - from a fine (up to 1 million rubles) to six years in prison.
The second reason, according to the assistant professor of the faculty economic sciences high school of the economy Heinrich Penikas, that since 2013 a global cleansing has begun banking market, and some financial pyramids were hiding behind a sign about banking services.
What modern financial pyramids look like
Basic working principle financial pyramid always alone. “You take money from some, then from the second. At the expense of the second, you return the funds to the first. You take from the third and return to the second, and so on. The pyramid collapses when the organization cannot or does not want to give money to depositors,” explains Penikas .
The modern scheme closest to the Mavrodi model is raising money against a promise high interest. The most impudent promise 20-30% per month, the more cautious - the same percentage, but per year. For example, at the end of October 2017, law enforcement agencies uncovered one of the largest last years such crimes.
A network of two dozen credit and consumer cooperatives operated in the country. Investors were convinced that their money was being invested in the construction of housing and business centers, and promised 16-20% annual returns. In fact, the scammers did not build anything, and payments were made at the expense of new investors. According to investigators, the scammers stole about 6 billion rubles, and the entire scheme was led by someone already convicted of fraud and imprisoned former banker Maxim Serkin.
Fraudsters also operate under the guise of microfinance organizations (MFIs). The owner of an MFI can offer clients to open a deposit (despite the fact that he does not have the right to do so), to invest money in some profitable project. Many residents of Izhevsk suffered from the MFI FinMarketIzhevsk. Its leader, Andrei Bektyshev, lent money to clients and immediately urged them to invest in his own business project, Matrix. It turned out that the participant in the pyramid gave Bektyshev the money borrowed from him under a large percentage money. The creator of the pyramid assured people that the profit from participating in the project would cover the interest on the loan, but as a result, the client had a debt and interest on it, and he did not receive any benefit from participating in the Matrix. For the fraudulent scheme, the court sentenced Bektyshev to three and a half years of suspended imprisonment.
The mysterious word "debtors"
Relatively the new kind financial pyramids - the so-called "debtors" firms. "They promise to solve problems with accounts payable to the bank for a fee. But there is no assignment of debt under the law, and the citizen only loses money," lawyer Sergey Golovin explains.
Let's say you owe the bank 100 thousand rubles. The debtor promises: you pay him 20 thousand, and he pays off all your debts. In fact, if anyone is lucky, then only the first clients - their debts are extinguished at the expense of the money of the new participants in the pyramid. And all the rest and the money that they paid to the "debtor" are deprived, and the debt to the bank does not disappear anywhere.
“Several years ago we encountered a “debtor” - a credit pyramid,” says Yulia Kombarova, director of Legal Bureau No. 1. “The company acted as a trustee from the borrower and repaid his debt for a fee of 20%. At first, it was like that: the company repaid the client’s debt for six months. Many people believed in the honesty of the company and carried their money. For a while, this company worked due to a continuous stream of borrowers. "
Consumer emotions and regional peculiarities
One of the most original types of financial pyramids in Russia is the iPhone. The entrepreneur promises to sell an expensive gadget cheaper by 20-30%, but in three to four weeks. Customers know that their friends have already received expensive gadgets at a really discounted price. The scheme is again not original: their friends are the first buyers who received money at the expense of the second. The second will receive their gadgets when the third bring enough money. This will continue until the organizers of the pyramid stop working, having collected the desired jackpot from the fourth-fifth-sixth flow of customers.
iPhone pyramids have taken root in the regions - for example, in the North Caucasus. "In Dagestan, the pyramids, unfortunately, take root easily," says Murad Aliskerov, head of the financial company"LyaRiba-Finance" in Makhachkala. - There are two reasons for this. One of the reasons is the so-called clan system. If I invest money somewhere, my whole family, friends and acquaintances also invest there. There were cases in the republic when entire villages gave money to scammers. Often without even finding out the details, believing a relative or friend at the word: "You say it's a good thing? So we believe."
In the same Izhevsk, some time ago, law enforcement agencies exposed the so-called sapphire pyramid. A person who invested a certain amount of money in the pyramid and attracted a few more people was promised expensive Australian sapphires as a reward. The price of an "entrance ticket" to this fraudulent scheme started at $315, and in return people received not sapphires, but jewelry glass worth 9 rubles. Two thousand people were deceived.
How long does a pyramid live
"The first pyramid" MMM "in Russia in 1994 lasted about a year. The second, in 2011-2012, also about a year," tells about life cycle financial pyramids Heinrich Penikas. - The life expectancy of any such structure can be approximately calculated based on the promised income. At "MMM" profitability was up to several tens of percent per month. But the famous financial pyramid Madoff in the United States promised only 5% per annum. True, at that time - and its origin was in the 80s - it was the most luxurious offer in the country, traditional bank deposits offered rates less than a percent. And the pyramid lasted more than 20 years."
How to distinguish an honest company from a pyramid
"If you are offered to buy something 30-50% cheaper market value ceteris paribus, then, most likely, this is a scam, and you can be left without money, or with defective goods, or with any encumbrances, "says Alexander Bystrov, managing director of InvestTrust. Olga Sorokina
Managing Partner at O2 Consulting
With a high probability, a company is a financial pyramid if it offers you to bring other customers and your income depends on the number of referred ones.
At the same time, if a company offering "fabulous deposit rates" or "iPhone at half price" has been operating on the market for a long time, this does not guarantee its legality. It is possible that the prosecutor's office is already conducting an audit, but it is legally difficult and therefore time-consuming to prove that a certain company is a financial pyramid.
“To search for evidence, you need to analyze the structure of income. And this information is protected as a trade secret,” says Anton Palyulin. “Losses and unintentional bankruptcies are a normal phenomenon in a capitalist society. The pyramid can continue to work even if law enforcement agencies are already conducting an audit. If the company pays dividends , then the intention of its organizers not to cover their debts has not been confirmed, and therefore, this is only an assumption.
Anastasia Stepanova
Since this site is dedicated to working on the Internet and ways to make money online, I think that it is simply necessary to pay some attention to financial pyramids, since this phenomenon is also a kind of "type of earnings".
Many, the concepts of a financial pyramid and network marketing are mixed into one, mistakenly taking one for the other, since the structures are very similar.
A bit of theory: a company that has distributors, as well as the presence of any physical product for distribution (sales) - this company belongs to network marketing (MLM company). If there is no place for any goods in the company, and the reward for old participants is formed by “injecting” money with new ones, this is a financial pyramid.
I have been earning money through the Internet for a relatively long time, but over these few years I have never taken part in financial pyramids, and there are several reasons for this ...
Why you should not take part in financial pyramids?
Firstly, I have never heard that someone really earned any normal amounts in the pyramid. No, though, I've heard it. However, those who talked about this themselves are barkers, which means that there can be no faith in them, by definition.
Secondly, not all of these structures are reliable. There is no guarantee in receiving the earned funds, but there are obviously great chances to get into a scam.
Thirdly, this type of earnings in itself is somehow unpleasant. You sit and think about how to invite people to invest their money. After all, this is the only way you can, if not earn, then at least return what you have invested yourself. Moreover, you cannot guarantee a person with certainty that the project will not deceive him in the future.
Based on the above, the following is obvious - I will not offer you entry into some kind of financial pyramid. In this article, I want, to the best of my modest strength, to talk about what I know about financial pyramids and is it possible to make money in them at all?
The structure (essence) of any financial pyramid is an invitation to new participants. That is, in order to earn money, you, as a rule, must first deposit some amount, and then you need to invite participants for yourself. They, in turn, also invite participants and you seem to be making good money.
Other pyramids scream that in their company you can earn a million by investing 100 rubles. Yes, it is possible, but there is one caveat. Do you have such a way, in an embrace with which you can invite a bunch of people under you? Do you know him? And not only to invite, but to convince people to do the necessary an initial fee. Is it real? My opinion - yes, it's real, but there are only one or two out of a million such smart people. As a result, the creator of this financial pyramid and two smart people earn the million promised rubles. The participants, for the most part, are left with nothing. At best, you can earn a small amount not everyone has money.
IN Lately financial pyramids are active in the network. Now there are a lot of them on the Internet. Their creators come up with new ways of disguise so that a person could not understand that he was in a pyramid. They call themselves online games with real money withdrawal, where you need to plant and grow trees or, for example, buy animals, raise them and then sell them, mutual aid funds, money tables and so on. But the essence is the same - at the first stage you invest a certain amount of money, and at the second - invite new participants.
I strongly advise against taking part in any projects in this direction. Only those who know how and where to find that layer of society that is prone to short-sightedness, stupidity, greed and laziness can make good money there. After all, for the most part, only such people enter into financial pyramids.
If you still decide to try to take part in the pyramids, even despite the above, then pay attention to the site itself, how it looks. The better and more voluminous it is, the more likely it is that the project is honest (well, if you can call this way of earning honest at all). You need to look for reviews about this company. But keep in mind that almost all pyramid schemes buy positive reviews. However, for the sake of interest, it is still worth reading what they write there.
The size of the first installment also plays a significant role here. It would be wiser to get involved in the pyramid where the contribution is 100 rubles, rather than the one where $ 100. After all, there is a high probability that you will never see the invested funds again. It is also very important at what stage of development the project is. As a rule, the life expectancy of a financial pyramid is no more than a year, and in most cases much less. Therefore, if you still do not have and want to participate, then it is better to join as early as possible, in the early stages, until the project is saturated with participants. The more participants, the closer the collapse of the financial pyramid, and this has been undeniably proven.
I summarized all my thoughts about financial pyramids here. You can make money in this business. This is really a huge business on the internet. I hope this is so only for the time being... If you want to try it, go ahead, just don't forget that the organizer earns decent money and, if you're lucky, the first 100-200 participants, provided they show unprecedented activity. The rest are left with nothing.
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Financial pyramids are investment systems in which investors receive income only from contributions from new participants. In many countries, including Russia, the creation of pyramid schemes is criminally punishable.
Reasons for the emergence of financial pyramids
Financial pyramids appear in countries where there are gaps in the legislation governing finance. For example, in the Russian criminal code, an article for organizing financial pyramids appeared only in 2016.
The higher the literacy of the population, the less likely that citizens will believe the promises of high returns and invest in a dubious organization.
The main reasons for the appearance of financial pyramids are the thirst for easy money and the greed of citizens, which is what scammers use. In order not to become their victim, it is important to know the signs of financial pyramids.
The principle of operation of the financial pyramid
Most often, the organizers disguise a pyramid scheme as an investment company and register it as commercial organization. Investments are attracted for some project with a high yield or they promise that the funds of investors will be invested in securities.
Even if the enterprise conducts real activities and some kind of profitability exists, it is not enough for the promised high payments: investors receive profit mainly from the money that newcomers contributed.
Some companies only pay income if the contributor brings in new people. As soon as the influx of investors into the financial pyramid stops, payments stop and most participants in the system lose their money.
Who earns
The only one who is guaranteed to receive income is the creator of the financial pyramid. He controls the flow of money and understands when it is necessary to stop payments to depositors in order to stay in the black.
The first participants can also count on the promised high profit: they will receive payments as long as new investors come. If a person has time to invest in a financial pyramid at the start, he can really make good money. However, most do not manage to return even the invested funds.
How to recognize a pyramid scheme
The Central Bank called the signs of financial pyramids, which should alert investors:
- There is no license of the Central Bank for investment or brokerage activities.
- The promise of high returns is many times higher than the rates on deposits.
- Income guarantee, which is prohibited in the securities market.
- A lot of advertising in the media and the Internet.
- There is no information about assets, income and expenses.
- Participants receive payments from the money that new investors have contributed.
- There is no valuable property.
- It is unclear what exactly the organization does.
If an organization falls under all the signs of a financial pyramid, this does not mean that it is one, but this is a signal for law enforcement to check.
Among other signs of a financial pyramid are the following features of the company's work:
- payments are not related to official income;
- employees constantly use terms from finance in a conversation with clients - “forex”, “stokes”, “futures”, “trading”;
- deposits are in foreign banks;
- it is not known who runs the company;
- no office or charter.
Types of financial pyramids
Financial pyramids began to appear in the early 20th century, their classic schemes are still working.
Single-level financial pyramids
They are called Ponzi scheme- named after the Italian who organized the fraudulent scheme in 1919. The principle of financial pyramids of this type is simple: the organizer attracts investors, promising high profits. The first investors without any problems receive a high income - due to the contributions of newcomers.
When the organizer realizes that the incoming amounts no longer cover the obligations to depositors, he disappears with the money. A well-known example of a single-level financial pyramid under the guise of business is Sergei Mavrodi's MMM.
Multilevel financial pyramids
Type of financial pyramids in which each new member must attract new investors in order to generate income. Contributions are distributed among the higher members of the financial pyramid.
Participants receive income while the number of levels grows, and for this the number of contributors must grow exponentially. Usually, a multi-level scheme cannot exist for more than a year. The most striking examples are Binar, MMM-2011 and MMM-2012. Network marketing works in a similar way.
Matrix financial pyramids
Matrix schemes, unlike single-level and multi-level ones, can exist for years - their principle of operation is more complicated.
- The participant makes a deposit and waits until the first level is filled and the number of depositors reaches, for example, eight people.
- Then these eight contributors move to the second level: they are divided into two matrices of four people. They need to attract new investors by building their own hierarchy.
- When the new first level is full, the matrix will split again and everyone will move up one level.
- The investor will receive a reward only when he reaches the top, having passed all the levels.
Financial pyramids on the Internet
From the end of the 2000s, financial pyramids began to appear on the Internet: the organizers can remain anonymous, and it is more difficult to track the flows here. Often Internet pyramids call themselves investment funds or even mutual funds.
The difference between financial pyramids and network marketing
The main difference between financial pyramids and companies with network structure that scammers earn not on sales, but on the contributions of new investors. Newcomers are forced to pay just to join the system, or they are persuaded to buy informational materials about the enterprise.
Why is it dangerous to participate in financial pyramids
The main feature of financial pyramids is the organization's source of income - it receives funds from investors and does not conduct other income-generating activities. Therefore, the organizers will pay dividends as long as new people come. As soon as expenses exceed income, the hierarchy will collapse. It is profitable to be at the beginning of the financial pyramid: those who invest last are always the losers.
What to do if you have already invested in a pyramid scheme
Write a statement to the police. Perhaps the scammers will be caught and punished, but the money is unlikely to be returned.
The Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Depositors and Shareholders operates in Russia, through which the state pays compensation to victims of financial pyramids. The maximum amount is 25,000 R, for veterans and invalids of the Great Patriotic War - 250,000 R. This payment can only be received once in a lifetime.
The most famous financial pyramids
South Sea Company
The first famous financial pyramid was founded in the early 18th century by the British financier Robert Harley. The only asset of the company was state debt England. Harley was selling shares in his business, promising huge profits from transactions in the southern colonies. In fact, the buyers of the shares did not see any income.
"Panama Company"
The first project of the Panama Canal turned out to be a scam. Founded in the late 19th century, the organization raised funds to build a shipping canal between South and North America and issued bonds, repaying these loans with funds from new investors. As a result, the financial pyramid collapsed, and the canal was built only half a century later.
Ponzi scheme
In the early 20th century, an Italian immigrant, Charles Ponzi, founded the "Securities Exchange Company". The company issued IOUs, pledging to pay $1,500 in three months for every $1,000 received.
The financial pyramid worked for a little over a year: one of the investors sued Ponzi, and he announced that the organization was temporarily suspending its activities. The scheme collapsed due to the fact that investors massively began to withdraw funds. Charles Ponzi received five years in prison, and when he got out, he again engaged in scams.
MMM
The largest financial pyramid in the history of Russia. Sergey Mavrodi founded the company in 1989 and traded on the stock exchange for five years. In 1994, MMM issued almost a million shares of 1000 R each. The company freely accepted the shares back, buying them at a higher price than it sold itself. From February to August, the value of shares rose 127 times, and the number of depositors increased to 15 million people.
In August 1994, Sergei Mavrodi was accused of tax evasion and arrested. The depositors came to the White House and demanded that Mavrodi be released. The government responded by banning MMM advertisements on state-run TV channels.
In the fall, Sergei Mavrodi ran for the State Duma and had to be released from the pre-trial detention center. But a year later he was deprived of his deputy mandate at the initiative of the Prosecutor General's Office. A year later, MMM was declared bankrupt.
The Madoff Affair
The investment fund of the American businessman Bernard Madoff was founded in 1960 and was considered one of the most reliable in the United States: the return on investment reached 13% per annum. The fund passed the audits of auditors and controllers from the Commission without any problems. securities. The organization was one of the 25 largest bidders on the NASDAQ exchange. In fact, it was an ordinary financial pyramid scheme.
The fund collapsed in just a few days: at the end of 2008, Bernard Madoff confessed to his sons that his entire business was one big lie, they immediately told the authorities about the financial pyramid, and the funds in the accounts were frozen.
When the depositors began to demand their money back, it turned out that it was a financial pyramid and there was nothing to give away: for the last 13 years, the company has not been engaged in any investments. The damage to depositors from the financial pyramid was estimated at $65 billion. The businessman himself was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
Pyramid with iPhones
In the summer of 2011, a Muscovite began to actively tell his friends that he had connections at customs and that he could sell the latest iPhones for 15,000 rubles. The minimum price of the last model at that time - iPhone 4 - was 27 thousand. Buyers only had to make a 100% deposit in advance.
With the funds of the first investors, the fraudster bought smartphones at a regular price and gave them to customers. Thanks to rumors, new buyers began to come to the man. The financial pyramid lasted four months - in December, the organizer of the scheme disappeared with the money. True, six months later the police found him.
AIDS drug pyramid scheme
South African businessman Barry Tannenbaum enjoyed the reputation of his grandfather as the founder of the large pharmaceutical concern Adcock-Ingram. The swindler actively met with millionaires around the world and offered to import drugs that prolong the life of AIDS patients. He promised investors a return of 200% per annum.
When the time came for payments, Tannenbaum decided to calm the partners and forged documents that confirmed the purchase of drugs. As a result, several investors hired private detectives, who found out that everything that was happening was a scam. In 2009, the fraudster fled from South Africa to Australia, where he got a job as a taxi driver.
There is no limit to human greed. The thirst for easy money just like that, in no time, turns off the ability to think logically, and even think with your head in general. Even the instinct of self-preservation disappears somewhere.
I am convinced of this every time I see another “adept” who has poured a lot of money into another “investment company”. And he begins to tell, so he will earn a lot, a lot, and everything will be fine with him.
You look. Think a lot:
Doesn't seem to be dumb. Looks like you have your own business. How does he not understand elementary things, that money does not fall from the ceiling so easily?
Where do those "apostles" who brainwash people like that study? Learn to write sales texts, huh? :)
Where is the limit of that thirst for easy money, which turns even smart people into stupid zombies?
How many times can you repeat there is no easy money. And they don't exist on the internet.. And don't look.
Signs of explicit financial pyramids
About the so-called HYIPs (HYIP - High Yield Investment Program) - fraudulent projects that mow under investment funds with a high level of income. Such type of projects help to invest money in crypto-currencies, energy, something else (depends on the invented legend). In fact, this is a financial pyramid scheme. As long as investments are made and new people are attracted, the structure lives on and even pays interest. As soon as payments exceed the inflow of money, the project is closed.
Sometimes it closes even earlier - at the very peak of the influx of money. And the founder of such a project is hiding in nowhere with other people's money.
Almost every year (or even more often) there are rumors that another one like this has burst investment project. People make noise, yell, resent ... and after some time they again carry their money to another "cool European project with huge interest." And all over again. Everything is in full circle.
Someone likes to play such games of chance every time. They are specifically looking for HYIPs that are still paying and trying to earn some money before the pyramid collapses.
But the benefit of participating in such a scheme (by the way, illegal - these are financial frauds) is 1% percent of investors. Guess who's in it?
If you are so interested in the world of investments, remember (it's so obvious and so simple!):
Can't be really serious and big investment company, which exists for two or three months and is registered somewhere in Cyprus or Malta;
If you are promised huge interest and huge income in a short time, this is also a dirty business. Where they promise more, they fool more;
The site of a serious company will not be miserable, with errors in the texts, with an unfinished design and functionality;
- if they offer to sell useless or non-existent goods;
If well developed affiliate program- you get a percentage for each investor you bring - this is also a sign of a pyramid scheme.
And one more thing: even if the company has a network of offices, a huge campaign has been carried out to attract investors, with festivals and meetings, there is an authorized capital, at the meeting they gave you a company flag and a pen and treated you to a sandwich, and even let you sign an agreement - this does not mean anything. This is not a guarantee that you will not be thrown. On the contrary - the more they poke in the nose authorized capital, the more they try to blur your eyes.
A real, live, fresh example is Vertex Life. Closed just the other day, leaving thousands of people with a nose. And there were offices in Kyiv and Moscow. Even in Lviv they were supposed to open. Events were held, flags were handed out and even contracts were signed with investors.
At first there were failures on the website. Then it turned out (according to the stories of the founders) that some IT specialist from the team hacked the database (!) And stole all the money (!!). You can't get into the office - only by special invitation. And then bam…. And that's it. The site is working, but there is no withdrawal button.
The founders fled.
It's a shame? And how. But no one asked to invest money there (and the minimum investment was 100 bucks). They saw with their eyes that they were buying ... yes, they wanted to earn money very quickly and without hassle.
Again, there is no easy money. They don't exist on the internet either. Nowhere. The law of conservation of energy works: if you want dough, make an effort.
Yes, there are masters who make money on “honest” HYIPs, but this is just luck for the time being. And that's it.
Should you invest in cryptocurrencies?
One of the trendy investment options is for those who lack thrills. To cryptocurrency.
Citizens of the Russian Federation know that bitcoins and, in general, all cryptocurrencies are prohibited in their country. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation cites an article from the Constitution, according to which "the introduction and issue of other currencies (except for the ruble) are not allowed." Besides, central bank considers bitcoins also a financial pyramid.
It's not worth the risk - a violation is a violation. And a lot of scammers got divorced on this topic, promising to earn thousands of dollars on bitcoin. In fact, they make money on their own ...
By the way, the NBU also advises Ukrainians not to carry out operations with cryptocurrency. Like, deceived - they are to blame.
Bitcoin is at least more or less real - it is an exchange commodity, you can actually pay for services with it (I already wrote about this).
And his success haunts the rest.
They go further - they open platforms for investments in crypto-currencies, which in fact do not exist. Real example, now exists - S-coin. Again, a “serious European” office CoinSpace, has been on the market for several years. Here she came to the expanses of the CIS (according to legend). Registered in Malta. Offers to invest in ghost cryptocurrency. There are no coins yet.
What else is given (and you think it's a scam or not):
The site is a specific crap on crutches with errors;
Does not work with any payment system. Only with banks (and then on this moment work with maps on the site is impossible);
The exchange was supposed to go public in October. Now they promise to come out in the spring (they admit that they have nothing);
They promise that immediately after entering the exchange, one S-coin will be equal to one euro;
They offer to sign for themselves, to bring other investors.
Pyramid of pure water. Interest is paid from the inflow of money from new customers. S-coin is sold and bought only within this site (no one needs a product ...).
Similar projects - the sea. Google about Helix (or read here if you're too lazy) or OneCoin.
And after...
If the world of investments beckons, and you want to drain money somewhere, then first:
Register here and browse topics. You will learn a lot of interesting things. Including about obvious fraudulent projects - they are taken out in a separate branch.
View the blacklist and . Constantly replenished and updated.
Read useful literature on the topic of investment. Do not climb into the water, not knowing the ford.
Invest in your business, in real estate, buy gold, after all. Put money on deposit or just ride around the world.
Do not invest in any "cool European companies that are serious." Check the information before giving your hard-earned money - news about scams and HYIPs is easily searched for, literally from half a dozen.
Do you have extra money and want to spend it somewhere?
Open an animal shelter.
Buy toys for kindergarten.
Buy a computer for your school.
Buy medicines or help make repairs in the hospital.
For this, at least they will say sincere thanks to you. And you won't feel like a fool.
In the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation two years ago appeared new article, according to which responsibility is provided for attracting money and property of citizens who receive dividends or interest exclusively at the expense of new participants to the so-called financial pyramids. In time? Late!
According to the law, he clarifies, for raising funds in the amount of more than 1.5 million rubles, the organizers of the "pyramid" face a million-dollar fine or imprisonment for up to 4 years. If the amount exceeds 6 million rubles, the violator will face a tougher punishment: forced labor for up to 5 years or imprisonment for up to 6 years, as well as a fine of up to 1.5 million rubles.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, in 2015 the damage from the activity of financial pyramids only identified in the country exceeded 22 billion rubles, which is comparable to the annual budgets of some subjects of the Russian Federation. In addition, in the first half of last year, law enforcement agencies conducted an investigation into 202 relevant criminal cases initiated under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Fraud”).
Almost to today organizers of hundreds of financial pyramids in Russia feel quite comfortable. According to experts, the total profit of offices that fraudulently attract money from citizens exceeds the income of many banks from the top hundred. But, despite the fact that almost once a week, and sometimes more often, another “pyramid bubble” “collapses” in the country, the naive pinocchio is still not translated.
According to an annual poll conducted last summer by the National Financial Research Agency (NAFI), only 27% of Russians were able to accurately determine what constitutes a pyramid scheme. And, according to NAFI, this disappointing figure has practically not changed from year to year over the past 7 years. That is, it turns out that about a third of our fellow citizens do not read newspapers, they only watch entertainment shows on TV, they have not heard of Mavrodi and are ready to run headlong and invest money anywhere and in anything, if only the interest on the deposit was more!
Ah, it’s not difficult to deceive me, “I myself am glad to be deceived ...” - Alexander Pushkin once confessed his love for a woman. Now times have changed, people have switched to prose and, in conditions of difficult economic crisis, the end of which is not visible, more and more confess their love for money, which, in order to live normally, they want more and, preferably, like MMM, that is, for free and quickly.
The first financial pyramid
We are well aware that we can be deceived, and yet we take risks, believing in a large percentage of profits and that the catastrophe will pass us by. At the same time, there are always people who, having ended up with a broken trough, begin to sincerely resent that they have been cheated. It is interesting that there are millions and millions of such "inflated" for the entire time of existence of the infamous financial pyramids.
Carlo Ponzi
After all this species“business” was by no means invented. He only took advantage of the idea, the author of which is considered to be an Italian emigrant who lived 100 years ago in American Boston. It was in his (I don’t want to say bright) head that the criminal scheme for deceiving the broad masses of the population for the first time arose by involving them in the general “pyramid building”.
The swindler quite actively profited from the fact that he guaranteed his clients the highest profit - 50 percent in 90 days, while not investing the money received anywhere. All the "investment" of the company was that the second client who came to the Ponzi firm received income from the money invested by the first client, the third - from the second client's money, and so on. Naturally, the investors were unaware of this outrageously simple scheme, so there was no end to those who wanted to become rich almost in the blink of an eye.
Millions of ordinary (and not only) Americans carried tens, hundreds and thousands of dollars to the Ponzi office. At the same time, those who brought money three months earlier could pick it up, but did not take it away, letting it go “in the second round.” This was the first large financial pyramid in the world, as a result of which Carlo Ponzi enriched himself by almost $ 26 million at the expense of robbed investors.
Financial pyramids in Russia
The creators of the current financial pyramids did not invent anything fundamentally new and just “spud” suckers in the same way as Ponzi did 100 years ago. “Spud”, of course, only until the number of investors ceases to increase, or the scammers themselves decide that that’s it – it’s time to “take off”.
In any case, numerous Pinocchio become extreme, believing in the mythical Field of Miracles and perceiving the clever authors of "pyramid building" no longer as "business partners", but only as some kind of evil geniuses who use the gullibility of the people. Of course, that's the way it is. However, if you look from the other side, you can not ignore the impenetrable stupidity of the "depositors" themselves, who pay for their naive illusions with real money.
According to law enforcement officials, as well as lawyers who defend the rights of the deceived in courts, the person gives the rubles to the "heralds of easy money" himself. By their strength
no one takes it away from him, no one puts a gun to his temple or puts a knife to his throat. The rules are well and long known, the main thing is to delve into them. And if they are completely satisfied, calling someone an evil genius is absurd! The fact that you are “shod” is, first of all, your personal choice!
As you know, the creators of MMM in the seemingly distant 90s of the XX century managed to attract 15 million depositors to their numerous cash desks opened literally in every city in the country! And after Lenya Golubkov disappeared from television screens, hundreds of thousands of them began to unsuccessfully storm the representative offices of the "people's"
companies, and then the courts, filing senseless claims against them. Dozens of people who invested in MMM not only money, but also apartments, dachas and even the last cowards, becoming homeless and losing their jobs, committed suicide. It was the largest and most successful (for the creators) "pyramid" that went down in the history of modern Russia.
New financial pyramids
However, a holy place does not happen empty, and with the fall of MMM, Khoper, Chara, Tibet, Selenga Russian House and others immediately appeared, like mushrooms after a summer rain, continuing Mavrodi's "case". It is clear that the undertakings of the new "great schemers" also could not last long. But even after they announced their bankruptcy and closure, hundreds of other companies, firms and firms immediately began to develop the “endless and immense field of miracles”, which began to actively attract Russians sincerely believing in fairy tales to “mutual” cooperation.
Valentina Ivanovna Solovieva paid a lot of money for the roof from the pyramid to the common fund of the Podolsk criminal group
The leaders of these organizations, taught by the bitter experience of their predecessors, now do not particularly “shine”, advertise themselves in the media a little, and find new customers mainly through network marketing and, at any opportunity, declare that they have nothing to do with “pyramid building” . At first glance, it is. The same
modern civil consumer and simple credit cooperatives exist quite legally and in their activities are based on the law on credit cooperation. However, according to experts, the main danger for depositors comes from these unspeakably generous organizations that offer truly fantastic interest on deposits.
"Cooperatives" today are a dime a dozen in any region of the country. Some, which have only recently opened their cash-in offices, are still regularly paying dividends to their clients. In others, where the leadership suddenly stopped answering calls and departed in an unknown direction, investigative and judiciary. Yes, in Perm region the court not so long ago passed a guilty verdict in the case of the director of an LLC, whose company in the city of Chaikovsky accepted money from local residents with a promise to pay high interest on them every month.
However, no investment, construction or other economic activity the company did not conduct, and with subsequent customers was calculated from the funds received from previous customers. Part of the "fat" at the same time, of course, settled in the pocket of the organizer of the next "financial pyramid". As a result, the swindler who stole about 4 million rubles from gullible citizens was put on trial, which sentenced him (another article for fraud) to 6 yuds of a colony general regime with a fine of 110 thousand rubles.
Financial scams
next in line litigation in a criminal case initiated against the management of the so-called investment company from Chuvashia. Local "investors" attracted money from "partners" by entering into loan agreements with them at 79 percent per annum! In what projects money was invested in order to get such a huge profit, numerous investors, of course, did not think about it. They were only interested in the prospect of increasing equity for a short time. As a result, there was another zilch. According to the investigating authorities, at least 1,000 people suffered from the actions of the "investment company" in Chuvashia alone, losing more than 100 million rubles overnight.
In addition to the above-mentioned cooperatives, the so-called venture or innovative enterprises, as well as a number of various construction funds, are now engaged in pumping money out of the population. All of them start their work within Russian legislation and for some time fulfill their obligations to customers. Therefore, according to the authorities, “it is very difficult to assert that their activities are aimed at extracting profit illegally, until there are no victims.”
However, "Day B" (from the word "bankrupt") sooner or later comes anyway, and, as happens quite often in such cases, deceived investors make "round eyes" and begin to prove in court that they did not know anything, and demand return their money. Even from the state budget!
Meanwhile, the Bank of Russia turned to the Moscow prosecutor's office with a request to look into the activities of the capital company, which has all the "signs of a financial pyramid", which, under the guise of "preferential repayment of loans" on the Internet, offers its customers to apply for a loan and invest the money received in a "highly profitable business" under 400 % per annum!!! As a result, according to the company's management, citizens' investments will allow them to "return the body of the loan and stay with interest income" as soon as possible.
