Finding signs of a financial pyramid is not so difficult for an ordinary person.
Photo: Fotolia/Gajus
Companies with signs of financial pyramids dominate the search queries on the Internet for investment. Fraud projects that masquerade as financial companies and promise fabulous incomes are called HYIPs. The Central Bank, especially for readers of Banki.ru, explains which companies should not be approached by a cannon shot.
Where is the hype from?
Ponzi scheme companies (paying depositors out of new clients' funds) dominate Internet search results for investing. This is evidenced by the results of monitoring by the International Confederation of Consumer Societies (ConfOP), Izvestia reported.
The monitoring organizers studied the results of Yandex and Google search engines for the query “it is profitable to invest money” with settings that ensure the objectivity of the sample, and then analyzed the websites of non-bank organizations offering investment. Among the most characteristic features 25 selected organizations - promises of over 100% annual returns, stories about "unique products" and misuse of symbols of state power.
Fraudsters can call themselves investment funds, hide behind well-known names and convince that money is invested in "highly profitable projects." On the Internet, such projects are called "HYIP" (from the English HYIP - high yield investment program). HYIPs can vary by type of activity, the most popular are money games, services masquerading as a financial market broker, and mutual funds.
Which companies do not have the right to attract your money or are potentially dangerous? And how to recognize them?
“We have learned to stop the activities of pyramid schemes on the Internet”
What is behavioral supervision? How do customer complaints help the Bank of Russia to control banks more effectively? Should these complaints be disclosed? Why are not all clients of financial institutions subject to investment risk warnings?
Victims of illegal market participants
Before agreeing to any offer, you should carefully study financial products, consult with experts, read information materials and documents proposed for signing, inquire about information about a potential partner so as not to become a victim of an illegal market participant, such as a financial pyramid.
Illegal participants in the financial market often very skillfully disguise themselves as well-known financial organizations that have licenses to carry out activities, use similar names, Internet sites, etc. The Bank of Russia, together with law enforcement agencies, is quite actively working to suppress the activities of such pseudo-financial organizations: in 2015 about 200 pyramids were discovered in 2016, about 180 in 2016, and about 70 in this six months.
List of financial institutions licensed to operate on financial market, posted on the website of the Bank of Russia, as well as the state registers of MFIs and CPCs.
Companies that raise money from the public without legal grounds are subject to administrative and criminal liability.
To the "financial pyramids", attracting funds from citizens, measures are applied depending on the amount of funds raised. Criminal liability for pyramid schemes was introduced in March 2016. Until that date, their activities were qualified as fraudulent actions under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (punishable by imprisonment for up to two years).
As of the date of the introduction of criminal liability for the activities of "financial pyramids" in the production of the investigative bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia there were 202 criminal cases on financial pyramids (initiated under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), in which 184 people were involved. The total amount of material damage caused exceeded 22.3 billion rubles.
In relation to MFIs carrying out activities prohibited by law - involvement by microcredit companies Money individuals who are not founders; attraction by microfinance companies of more than 1.5 million rubles from one individual (this rule does not apply to the founders of the MFC) - administrative liability is provided for under article 15.26.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (fine from 50 thousand to 100 thousand rubles).
Faith in passive income
“It cannot be denied that the problem of unscrupulous organizations that attract money from the population has existed and continues to exist. This is primarily due to the fact that for the most part people continue to believe in the promises of big passive income. And, due to the lack of proper financial literacy, cannot evaluate this or that promise,” says Vladimir Rusakov, an investment expert at BGP Litigation.
1. Carefully study who you give your money to.
According to Russian legislation, accept funds from the public for the implementation of subsequent financial transactions licensed companies can. Including numerous agents of foreign brokers and dealers must also be licensed to carry out financial activities issued by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. It is important to study reviews and information on a legal entity in open sources.
It is also worth noting that legal entities can attract funds from individuals under a loan agreement. But if you are not professionally engaged in this activity, then avoid such offers. This is due to the fact that before granting a loan, it is necessary to conduct a detailed legal, financial and other due diligence of the business. Without such checks, the risk of non-return is very high. Just put yourself in the place of a bank that issues a loan.
2. Understand the proposed investment product in detail.
3. Examine the contract under which the money is transferred.
Ordinary fraud
So, banks and microfinance organizations, information about which is entered in special state registers, can attract funds from citizens on a regular basis under the guise of a loan (deposit). In addition, the organization has the right to raise a loan by issuing bonds. All three cases are regulated in detail at the legislative level.
“In other cases, the activities of organizations to attract deposits can hardly be called legal, although there may be one name from the deposit agreement, under which completely different legal relations will be disguised, - you must always carefully study juristic documents. The very activity of organizations that make advertising in connection with well-known financial institutions(in fact, without being connected with them in any way) and attract funds in deposits, may constitute a common fraud, misleading the consumer. And therefore, it should become an object of attention of the competent authorities, ”says Ivan Korshunov, a lawyer at the Kovalev, Tugushi and Partners Bar Association.
Payouts are not guaranteed
Bank deposits do not generate income, but only allow you to save money from inflation. Therefore, inquiries about where to invest money “under high interest", do not run out. The Central Bank reminds that in addition to deposits, there are other financial products and instruments that can be used to place free cash. At the same time, cash payments for all other products, except for bank deposits, are not guaranteed by the deposit insurance system.
Bank deposits do not generate income, but only allow you to save money from inflation. Therefore, inquiries about where to invest money “at high interest rates” do not dry out.
In general, the choice of one or another financial instrument depends on many factors. It is necessary to take into account the method of managing funds - whether the citizen will manage his money himself, or he is ready to entrust it to professionals.
For example, you can invest in a microfinance institution (MFI) and/or transfer your personal savings to a consumer credit cooperative (CPC). Rates on attracted by these financial institutions higher, but, as previously noted, these organizations are not included in the system DIA insurance, that is, investments in them are not guaranteed by the state. In addition, it should be borne in mind that among MFIs, only microfinance companies (MFCs) have the right to attract funds from citizens who are not their founders and only in the amount of at least 1.5 million rubles. Microcredit companies (MCCs) do not have the right to attract funds from citizens who are not their founders. As for the CPC, they have the right to attract only the funds of their members (shareholders).
From January 1, 2015, you can open in brokerage company individual investment account and receive not only financial results from transactions with securities, but also tax deduction at the rate of 13% per year. There are also many other financial instruments: bonds federal loan, investment insurance life, mutual funds (mutual funds), investment coins and precious metals.
The Central Bank counted 240 financial pyramids in Russia ... months of 2019, the Central Bank identified 240 organizations with signs of financial pyramids. According to Lyakh, the Russians themselves more often began to inform the Central Bank about ... cooperatives and other financial institutions. Russia liquidated the interregional financial pyramid In general, for the first three quarters, the Central Bank identified 2165 organizations ... of which 1576 are illegal creditors. In June, the police liquidated the financial pyramid, which operated in several regions of Russia. Investors were offered to invest in... Interregional financial pyramid was liquidated in Russia ... The Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with a unit from the Yaroslavl region, detained the organizers of the financial pyramids, the damage from which is estimated at more than 1 billion rubles ... In Kazan, the organizer of the Savings Union was sentenced to 7 years ... Organizer of the financial pyramids Savings Union Anton Kirilyuk was sentenced to 7 years in prison. ...Finance, Mar 10, 11:35 am
The head of the OneCoin cryptocurrency pyramid was detained in the United States ... -Angeles detained a citizen of Bulgaria Konstantin Ignatov in the case of an international pyramid, which includes trading in the fraudulent OneCoin cryptocurrency. This is reported on the website... Roskomnadzor demanded from the provider to block Cashbury websites ... to the list of banned sites. Why tens of thousands of people believed the financial pyramid Cashbury At the end of September, the Central Bank announced that there were signs of financial pyramids. In particular, the regulator drew attention to the fact that the company's activities... The owner of "Cashbury" announced the termination of work due to the "hunt" for the company ... called it a "three-week vacation" to recover blocked accounts. financial pyramid Cashbury continued to advertise on the MCC Earlier, in the activities of Cashbury, the Bank of Russia found signs of financial pyramids. The regulator pointed out that the group companies used the principles of network marketing, promising ... Cashbury has suspended operations ... of this license. The regulator called Cashbury one of the largest financial pyramids identified for last years: potential damage to customers is estimated at 1 billion rubles. Why tens of thousands of people believed the financial pyramid Cashbury Cashbury positions itself as a "peer-to-peer lending platform" that "builds processes... Central Bank appreciated possible losses Cashbury customers in 1 billion rubles. ... ”, - explained the director of the department of the Central Bank. Why tens of thousands of people believed the financial pyramid Cashbury In the activities of a group of Russian and foreign companies"Cashbury" there are "clear signs" of classic financial pyramids, reported at the end of September the Bank of Russia. These companies do not have...Finance, 27 Sep 2018, 20:53
The prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit with the Rostov court to block Cashbury websites ... tens of thousands of people believed the financial pyramid"Cashbury" On the eve it became known that the Bank of Russia saw signs of financial pyramids in the group of Russian and foreign... Russia. Lyakh noted that “this is one of the largest financial pyramids” identified in recent years.Finance, 26 Sep 2018, 16:05
Why tens of thousands of people believed in the Cashbury pyramid scheme ... 600% attracted tens of thousands of people Classical pyramid The Bank of Russia saw "obvious signs" of classical financial pyramids in the group of Russian and foreign companies operating ... - consumer societies, two acted as individual entrepreneurs, and one financial pyramid was organized in the form of a joint-stock company. A notable trend of the last year... In the Penza region, the organizers of the "pyramid" were arrested for 1 billion rubles. ... , the criminal group operated in six regions, the attackers opened nine branches " pyramids”, Managed from Penza. The police conducted seven searches in Moscow, St. ... cases of fraud and the organization of a criminal community. four organizers of the financial pyramids sent into custody. Their 22 properties were seized to... The Central Bank revealed in the ATB a financial pyramid for the sale of bills to the population ... from organizations associated with the shareholder Andrey Vdovin. A "classic financial pyramid”, explains the regulator of the Central Bank told the details about the situation in the Asia-Pacific ... bills exclusively through the issuance of new bills. A classical financial pyramid, which was actually controlled by ATB, states the Central Bank. LLC "FTK" was associated with... The Central Bank warned about the disguise of financial pyramids under the ICO ... the turnover of cryptocurrencies, comparing them with the financial pyramid. “Obviously, during the growth pyramids interest in this pyramid is actively fueled by high profitability," he said in... ", the expert added. "Classic pyramid» Leading analyst at Amarkets Artem Deev compared cryptocurrency fraud with construction pyramids to which the Russians ... The Central Bank creates special services in the regions to combat financial pyramids ... organizations and Internet projects that have signs of financial pyramids. In 2015, 200 pyramids, in 2016 - 180, for three quarters... , in general, the Bank of Russia notes a positive trend in the decline in the activities of financial pyramids. This is due to the preventive measures that the Bank of Russia is taking jointly ... the Kazan District Court sentenced the head of an organization with signs of financial pyramids. As operatives established earlier, the offender accepted the personal savings of citizens and... The convicted banker has already stolen another 6 billion rubles from behind bars. ... Russia has invested more than 6 billion rubles. Investigation of the financial pyramid, which included more than two dozen credit and consumer cooperatives ... shareholders. Most of the money was transferred under loan agreements to counterparties pyramids, none of which, according to the investigation, financial and economic activities ... from a few tens to hundreds of millions of rubles. Case searches pyramids went to 180 addresses in Moscow and a number of other regions...Economy, 27 Sep 2017, 12:11
Oreshkin compared bitcoin with MMM ... is investing in it,” Oreshkin said. MMM on bitcoin: how financial pyramids moved to chatbots It is clear that “the state will not be able to protect ... funds,” she explained, since the mechanism for their use “has signs pyramids". The cost of cryptocurrencies is growing due to the fact that in operations with ... bitcoin: how to mine at home At the end of August, the Deputy Minister finance Alexey Moiseev said that the department is in favor of ensuring that the right ...Society, 12 Sep 2017, 09:13
The head of China's largest financial pyramid was sentenced to life in prison ... a defendant in the case of the largest financial pyramid in China Ezubao, which raised an investment of $7.6 billion. Organizers pyramids were sentenced to various... 100 million yuan (about $15.3 million). Financial work pyramids Ezubao was discontinued in 2015. Full scheme of her work... $150 million in luxury goods, real estate and cars. Before the crash pyramids its founders collected all the documents relating to the work in 80 bags ... The owner of the financial pyramid "Doverie" was sentenced to 4 years in prison ... 31.5% per annum,” the press service said in a statement. Victims of the financial pyramids became 37 depositors who suffered damage in the amount of more than 20 ... Personal contribution: How not to fall into a financial pyramid ... how to recognize financial pyramids said experts of the National Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan In 2016, the damage from the activities of financial pyramids amounted to 1.5 billion rubles ... past, financial situation, own funds. “Working for a short time, modern financial pyramids conduct an aggressive advertising campaign using the Internet, social networks, mass media... The head of the financial pyramid received a term in Novosibirsk ... a sentence to financier Yevgeny Olenev, who, according to the investigation, created a financial pyramid and deceived hundreds of people. At the trial, he complained about ... organizations, in principle, did not carry out entrepreneurial activity. "It's a typical financial pyramid. From February 2013 to July 2014 in this way... The organizer of the "financial pyramid" stole 427 million rubles from Tatarstan citizens ... years. Kirilyuk organized the attraction of funds from citizens on the principle of "financial pyramids". Under the guise of investing in various commercial projects, allegedly guaranteeing ... expensive real estate in Kazan, ”the Prosecutor’s Office of Tatarstan reported. Victims of the financial pyramids more than 1.5 thousand residents of Tatarstan, Mari El, Mordovia became ... In Tatarstan, the organizers of the "financial pyramid" stole 190 million rubles Fraudsters under the guise of investing in various investment programs stole a large sum of money. The prosecutor's office of the Republic of Tatarstan approved the indictment in a criminal case against 35-year-old Ekaterina Nikonova. She is accused of fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale - 191 million rubles in damage. According to investigators, between... CEC refused to monitor the legitimacy of the elections ... State Duma elections. Its performer in the 1990s headed the financial pyramid, and then worked as an assistant to the member of the Central Election Commission in charge of the contest Elections ... for a day he did not answer calls and messages from an RBC correspondent. Director pyramids Even before working with Galchenko, Bolshunov was mentioned in the media in ... he was the director of the Yenisei Trust Company, organized on the principle of financial pyramids, wrote the newspaper "Today" with reference to the version of the investigation. The investigation suspected... Herbalife to pay $200 million to get rid of Ponzi scheme label ... $200 million to acquit himself of charges of organizing a financial pyramids, according to a posting on the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website ... Pershing Square Capital Management Bill Ekman called Herbalife "the most effective pyramid in history". Herbalife, a direct selling company, was founded... Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug to judge "financiers" who stole tens of millions from Surgut residents ... In Ugra, the founders of the financial pyramids who deceived 69 Ugra residents on total amount over 35 million rubles. ... Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan: damage from fraudsters in Tatarstan amounted to 500 million rubles ... human. In 2014-2015 in Tatarstan there was activity of "financial pyramids". Their activity entailed the loss of a large number of funds ... other measures of procedural coercion were chosen in relation to others. the largest financial pyramid Rinat Akchurin, head of the UEBiPK department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Tatarstan, called "Growth ... persons established and headed Altyn LLC, which acted on the principle of "financial pyramids". Fraudsters stole 12.5 million rubles. Tatarstan citizen to be convicted of financial pyramid scheme with a profit of 12.5 million rubles ... convicted resident of Bashkortostan 31-year-old Maxim Dyachkov in creating a financial pyramids. According to the investigation, at the end of 2013, Dyachkov, together with ... persons, established and headed Altyn LLC, which acted on the principle of "financial pyramids". In order to attract money, the accomplices opened the firm's offices in Kazan... Scam at the expense of VIP clients: how the pyramid of Vneshprombank collapsed ... -year anniversary, turned out to be a classic pyramid. It can even be compared to the Bernard Madoff scam - if not in scale ( pyramid Madoffa turned out to be indebted to her ... ”, - says the contributor. Then, according to him, the bank began to build pyramid: the money of new creditors extinguished obligations to the old ones. About this RBC ... wives, ”a top manager of one of the banks tells RBC. How collapsed pyramid On November 6, 2015, the Bank of Russia completed scheduled inspection Vneshprombank... Tatarstan citizen received 5 million rubles and 10 years in prison for organizing a pyramid ... the fact of embezzlement of funds opened a criminal case. Now the organizer of the financial pyramids threatens imprisonment for up to ten years and a fine ...Technology and media, 01 Feb 2016, 14:48
Biggest online lending scam uncovered in China ... with the Ezubao online lending system, which worked on the principle of financial pyramids, according to the Financial Times, citing the Xinhua news agency. From activity... . According to the Chinese authorities, such activities were in fact financial pyramid, since 95% of the investment projects presented on the company's website turned out to be... Residents of Tatarstan donated 2 billion financial pyramids ... finance”, “Blago”, “Platinum”, “Inter Invest”, “MarkFinance Garant”, “Nostalgie Trade”. In 2015, one of the 7 defendants in the criminal case on the activities of the financial pyramids... offering to tighten Russian laws against financial pyramids. Amendments to Civil Code Russian Federation implied a ban on advertising of financial pyramids including transport...The financial pyramid withdrew 1 billion rubles from Russia to Ukraine. ... The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia detained 19 organizers of the financial pyramids, withdrawing money to Ukraine. According to the department, from the actions of the detainees ..., Novosibirsk, as well as in Buryatia. An organization built on the principle of financial pyramids, attracted money from the population, promising an alternative standard credit as...
Former Madoff programmer sentenced to two and a half years in prison ... and a half years in prison for George Perez, assistant to the creator of the largest financial pyramids Bernard Madoff, CBS NewYork reports. This is the fourth of five employees... In 2008, the largest financial pyramid, which was created and headed by Bernard Madoff - the former chairman of the board of directors ...Mar 14, 2014, 09:18
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan starts a criminal case on a large financial pyramid in Kazan ... in the coming days will initiate a criminal case against the organizers of the financial pyramids- Center LLC, which "outbid" citizens' debts for bank loans... noted that in the actions of Center LLC there are all signs of financial pyramids, among which he named increased PR activity, focus on the illiterate ... on behalf of the company. Center LLC has become another in a series of financial pyramids, the investigation of which continues in Tatarstan. Since 2013, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ... pyramids. The firm's clients were offered to transfer to it 20-30% of the previously received loan ... a message in which it warned that DrevProm had signs of financial pyramids. According to SPARK, DrevProm LLC is registered in Sterlitamak of the Republic ...05 Feb 2014, 11:26
"DrevProm" became a defendant in a criminal case ... funds of the population". The police check commercial organization for signs of financial pyramids.As follows from the message of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, on this moment in ... the company, having received signals that DrevProm could be a financial pyramid. During the audit, department employees found out that "the company is engaged in attracting ... a message in which it warned that DrevProm had signs of financial pyramids. At the same time, the law enforcement agencies of Sterlitamak reported that more than 30 ... Three Russians arrested in India for MMM fraud ... their accomplices deceived the people of Assam with the help of financial fraud, organizing pyramid in the style of Sergei Mavrodi. The joint-stock company was actively advertised on the Internet ..., it was necessary to deposit about 5 thousand rupees (90 dollars). Activity pyramids soon affected other states of India, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. pyramids contrary to the one adopted in 1978. Act, as well as three articles of the Criminal... The court sentenced the elusive "Ural Mavrodi" to 7.5 years in prison ... sentenced to 7 and a half years in prison the creator of the financial pyramids Alexey Kalinichenko. "Uralsky Mavrodi" was found guilty under the article "Fraud ... Forex-trader". In fact, the structure he created functioned on the principle of financial pyramids- all payments to the original customers were made exclusively at the expense of funds received ...In Ukraine, and on the suspension of the work of offices. MMM-2011 refutes the information about the collapse, stating that there are only "certain problems with unprofitable structures."
One of the largest Russian "financial pyramids". The MMM Association was registered in 1992 by Sergei Mavrodi and specialized in receiving cash deposits from the public in exchange for their own shares.
During the five years of MMM's existence, the company has produced 27 million shares and 72 million tickets. During its heyday, MMM OJSC promised an income of 200% per month. The number of the company's investors amounted to various estimates, from 10 to 15 million people.
In the summer of 1994, information appeared in the media that tax office Russia and the tax police during the audit of one of the structures of JSC "MMM" revealed "gross violations tax legislation", and ordered to recover 49.9 billion rubles to the budget. Mavrodi refused to pay the fine: the company insisted that all taxes had been paid. Conflict with tax authorities provoked a panic among investors who began to get rid of shares and tickets.
On September 2, 1997, OJSC "MMM" was declared bankrupt by the decision of the Moscow Arbitration Court. The founder of the pyramid, Sergei Mavrodi, was sentenced in 2007 to 4.5 years in prison. On May 22, 2007, he was released, having served the allotted time in prison during the investigation. According to the capital department of the FSSP, for 2009 on the performance of Moscow bailiffs there were more than 800 executive documents on the recovery of about 300 million rubles from Sergei Mavrodi in favor of the affected depositors. In total, more than 10 thousand citizens throughout Russia were recognized as victims in the MMM case.
Moscow bailiffs were able to recover 18.7 million rubles from the founder of the "financial pyramid", but these funds are not enough to satisfy the material damage of all claimants.
According to bailiffs, the total debt of the MMM founder to citizens is almost five billion rubles.
"Vlastilina"
The Vlastilina enterprise was opened in 1992 in Podolsk (Moscow region) by Valentina Solovieva and soon began to accept deposits from citizens. In particular, a depositor who provided an amount equal to half the cost of a new Russian-made passenger car could expect to receive vehicle within a month. In 1994, the company began to accept money for deposits(including currency), as well as contributions to apartments. Around the same time, interruptions in payments began, and not one of the apartment contracts was fulfilled at all.
In 1995, Solovieva was arrested and taken into custody. In 1999 she was sentenced to seven years in prison, in 2000 she was released on parole at the request of the Trade Union of Entrepreneurs of the Moscow Region (“for Good work and behavior").
16,000 clients were recognized as victims in the case, losing a total of 536.7 billion rubles and 2.6 million dollars.
"Russian House Selenga"
The Selenga Russian House company was founded in 1992 in Volgograd by Sergey Gruzin and Alexander Salomadin. During the year, the company opened 73 branches and 800 agencies throughout the country. Funds received from citizens were directed, in particular, to the development of the RDS-Avia company and the Russian Trade supermarket chain, as well as publishing houses, motor transport enterprises and travel companies. In 1994, the company began to have problems with payments on deposits. In 1996, Gruzin and Salomadin were arrested, in 2000 they were each sentenced to nine years in prison, but in 2001 they were released on parole.
According to law enforcement agencies, 2.4 million people were deceived, and the total amount of money received from them amounted to more than 2.8 trillion non-denominated rubles (of which almost a third was spent on maintaining the company).
Concern "Tibet"
In 1993, Vladimir Dryamov organized in Moscow and a number of regions of the country points for accepting deposits from the population, functioning under the guise of the Tibet concern, and in 1994 embezzled the collected funds and disappeared abroad. In 1998, Dryamov was arrested in Greece and extradited to Russia; in 2001 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but in 2002 the sentence was commuted to nine years.
According to law enforcement agencies, at least 130,000 citizens were deceived, and the total amount of stolen money was at least 17 billion non-denominated rubles.
"Hoper-Invest"
The Khoper-invest company was established in 1992 in Volgograd by mother and son Leah and Lev Konstantinov and was a regional network of points for accepting deposits from individuals. Part of the funds received was directed to the development of a number of projects, in particular, the Lyulka-Saturn design bureau and the Kuznetsky Most model house, the other was exchanged for currency and with the help of various kinds fraudulent schemes exported to Finland and Israel.
In 1997, Leah Konstantinova was arrested and in 2001 sentenced to eight years in prison (released on parole), while Lev Konstantinov left for Israel in 1995.
According to law enforcement agencies, more than 4 million people were deceived, and the total amount of funds received from them amounted to more than 3 trillion non-denominated rubles.
Business Club "RuBin" (CJSC "SUN")
According to information posted on the holding's website, the Rubin business club has been operating for 12 years. However, as the investigation will later establish, work on the market for 12 years does not correlate with the facts of registration and tax registration (2005 and 2006). Business-club "Rubin" was active in attracting funds from the population.
In order to join Rubin, it was enough to deposit 3,000 rubles. The proposed project guaranteed a return to the investor of 25% per annum - with a deposit of 3 thousand rubles and 50% - with a deposit of 30 thousand rubles.
At the same time, contributors were involved in the search for new project participants.
The first signs of the collapse of the pyramid appeared on February 18, 2008, when all the documents were taken out of the organization's office, allegedly in connection with the check of the Economic Crime Control Department, and the company's staff programmer destroyed all the information on the computers. Since that time, all settlements with depositors have been stopped.
February 27, 2008 by the Investigation Department at the Internal Affairs Directorate Central region Petersburg, a criminal case was initiated against the business club "Rubin" on the grounds of a crime under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, on the fact of embezzlement by unidentified persons from among the employees of LLC "SAN" (CJSC "SAN") of citizens' funds in a special large amount for a total amount of at least 1 million rubles under the pretext of participation in investment project Business Club "Rubin".
In June 2008, the investigation issued a decision to bring the head of Rubin, Alexander Polshchenko, as a defendant under the fourth part of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - fraud. Polshchenko was put on the federal wanted list, his property was seized.
Damage caused by the fraudulent scheme preliminary estimates, is measured in tens of billions of rubles, and the number of victims in Russia alone exceeds 100 thousand people.
The largest financial pyramids abroad
Company "India"
It is generally accepted that the creator of the first financial pyramid was John Law (John Law de Lauriston, born in 1671 in the capital of Scotland - Edinburgh). As French finance minister, chairman of a state bank, and head of the world's first open joint stock company, John Law went down in history as the inventor of the pyramid scheme.
One of the projects that Law created at the end of 1717 was the "Company of the Indies".
India Company was created as joint-stock company and was supposed to direct its resources to the development of French-owned colonies along the Mississippi River.
To begin with, 200,000 shares were issued, each worth 500 livres each. The main feature of these shares was that those wishing to buy them could pay not only with banknotes and coins, but also with state obligations, which were quoted on the market below par.
Just a few months later, there was an insane demand for the company's shares. Soon the 500-livre notes rose in price to 10,000, then to 12-15,000. Most of the money raised by the company was invested in bonds public debt. And at the beginning of 1720, John Law was appointed the state controller of finances. However, this is where the problems with the liquidity of securities began. Merchants and speculators began to get rid of banknotes and shares. Hundreds of thousands of stocks poured into the market. In the autumn of 1720 the company was declared bankrupt. Law began to be hunted by crowds of people demanding the return of their money. In mid-December 1720, Law had to secretly flee from France. All his property was soon confiscated and used to satisfy creditors.
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC
The company was founded by Bernard Madoff in 1960 on Wall Street and had the status of one of the most profitable and reliable among investment funds in the USA. According to the company itself, it managed over $17 billion in capital.
Madoff's pyramid collapsed after the financier revealed the whole truth about the fraud to his sons Mark and Andrew, who are high-ranking employees of his now closed financial company who passed this information on to the authorities.
Deceived citizens and financial institutions invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Madoff's business.
The list of deceived investors included not only the wealthiest US citizens and celebrities, but also the world's largest banks - BNP Paribas, HSBC, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Natixis, Nomura, Royal Bank of Scotland, UniCredit.
In June 2009, Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison. At that time he was 71 years old. In court, he admitted that he had been defrauding investors and regulators for 20 years. He did not make any transactions, but simply transferred all the money to his bank account, issuing funds from it at the request of clients in the form of "profit".
Stanford International Bank
Stanford International Bank of Texas billionaire Allen Stanford ran a fraudulent scheme for 15 years based on the sale of certificates of deposit guaranteeing high percent profitability. Investors bought these papers, believing in the promises of "incredible and unreasonably high stakes percent."
In June 2009, the financier was taken into custody. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Stanford with fraudulent transactions. The commission assessed that Stanford, his family and friends "committed a major fraud based on false promises" and fabricated data from past years in order to deceive investors.
According to prosecutors, Stanford embezzled about $7 billion from investors. With this money, he led a luxurious lifestyle, started various business projects and bribed regulators to help him cover up his criminal schemes.
In March 2012, a court in the US city of Houston found Texas billionaire Allen Stanford accused of fraud on 13 of 14 counts.
Stanford, 61, faces up to 20 years in prison on the most serious charges, but if he serves consecutive prison terms, he could spend much more time behind bars.
Since 2000, the L&G company, founded by Kazutsugi Nami, began to collect investors' money at 36%. Those who invested more than 10 thousand dollars could receive dividends of 900 dollars every three months. The company promised to make all of humanity millionaires thanks to its system and functioned well until 2007, then stopped issuing dividends and replenishing accounts, and did not return deposits. At the time of the arrest of the executives, there were only 300 million yen ($3 million) in the company's accounts.
L&G managed to raise 128.5 billion yen ($1.43 billion). 37,000 gullible investors suffered. On March 18, 2010, the Tokyo District Court sentenced the president of Japan's largest financial pyramid, 76-year-old Kazutsugi Nami, to 18 years in prison.
Yingkou Donghua Trading
During 2002-2005, the founder of Yingkou Donghua Trading, Wang Zhengdong, fraudulently scammed 3 billion yuan ($417.11 million) from individuals who had invested in his business. The scammer promised clients from 35% to 60% of the profit.
The funds were raised under the guise of investments in the defunct companies Donghua Zoology Culturing and Donghua Spirit. More than 10 thousand people were affected.
Wang Zhengdong was arrested in June 2005. Sentenced to capital punishment. The verdict was handed down by the Intermediate Court of Yingkou City (Liaoning Province, Northeast China) and later confirmed by the Provincial Court in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning. Wang Zhengdong's 15 accomplices got away with much lighter punishment - they were sentenced to prison terms of five to ten years.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sourcesCurrently, there is often an opinion that Bitcoin is the most that neither is a financial pyramid with all the ensuing consequences. But is it? Let's try to figure it out in practice, compiling our list of sensational and stunning financial scams of the last century. The most famous financial pyramids from history are presented below.
It is no secret that not so long ago the Central Bank of Russia labeled the aforementioned cryptocurrency as a financial pyramid. The motivation for such a decision is easily seen in the comments of officials from the Department of National payment system Bank of Russia. The analogy, in their opinion, is justified by the speculative nature of transactions. They say that not only speculators aimed at easy money work with bitcoins, but also people who pay the indicated profit. In comparison with various kinds of securities, the security of this cryptocurrency is observed only in relation to the time spent by a person on its “extraction”.
Definition of a Financial Pyramid
So, how do financial pyramids work and what companies can be called that? This concept includes a company that generates income and provides dividends to its investors solely through the continuous flow of new cash deposits. The mechanism of the pyramid is simple - the income of the first investors comes from the deposits of the next clients of the organization, those, in turn, from the next ones, and so on. In the vast majority of cases, the founders of the pyramid hide the main source of its income or make it false. The destruction of the financial pyramid occurs due to the cessation of new deposits.
Does it make sense to consider Bitcoin a pyramid scheme?
Unlike a pyramid scheme, Bitcoin does not guarantee the holders of funds big profits. In fact, this cryptocurrency is simply convenient means for keeping money and paying for various services and goods. Bitcoins have their own software and special properties, including the absence of inflation, the anonymity of depositors, the decentralized nature of the activity, and the meager cost. money transfers. As for the financial pyramid, its founder traditionally promises high profits to investors, but the very essence of the pyramid does not provide for long-term viability, which deprives investors of the guarantee of profit.
For greater clarity, we recall the nine largest and devastating financial frauds of the last century.
1 The Ponzi Scam
One of the creators of large-scale financial pyramids is considered to be the fraudster Charles Ponzi. Back in 1919, an enterprising Italian swindler, thanks to his powers of observation, developed a scheme to fool people. On one seemingly ordinary day, a letter was brought to him. In it, in addition to a piece of paper with the text, there was a coupon that had international circulation. Such receipts could be exchanged for stamps and sent a reply letter to the addressee. An interesting fact - in the Old World for such a coupon they gave one mark, and in the USA - six.
After thinking carefully about his own observation, Ponzi founded a company in Boston, which he called "SXC", focused on buying and selling goods in different countries, and began to actively invite investors. The swindler supported the investor interest with promises to pay 150% of the invested funds after 45 days. Naturally, such attractive conditions could not but arouse increased interest among the residents of Boston. The process has begun.
In fact, Ponzi did not at all acquire exchange coupons, but acted in the tactics of a financial pyramid, which are already classic for the present times - old depositors received money from new ones, already in July Charles received about 250,000 dollars a day on promissory notes. Nevertheless, within a month, federal agents raided Ponzi, checked his activities and liquidated the company like a financial pyramid. Long litigation led to the fact that Ponzi returned part of the money to the depositors, but another two million dollars seemed to disappear into thin air.
It's funny, for his activities, the Italian swindler received only five years in prison.
2. Pyramid of Dona Branca
Portugal also had its own large-scale pyramid, and its founder is a woman, everyone preferred to call her Dona Branca. In 1970, an enterprising lady opened own bank. To attract investors, she promised each of them a ten percent monthly rate. Naturally, such profitable terms for quick financial growth, they could not help but seduce thousands of people of different incomes from all over the country. For a long 14 years, the financial pyramid of Dona Branca was alive and well, the woman herself by that time had received the nickname "People's Banker". However, in 1984, the collapse of the pyramid occurred, which resulted in the arrest of Dona Branca and her imprisonment for a ten-year term. She spent the rest of her life in solitude.
3. "Double Check"
The scheme has no reference to chess. Shah is the surname of the teacher high school Syed Shah from Pakistan. In 2005, the swindler came to his native Wazirabad from a long business trip to Dubai and immediately stunned his neighbors with information that the trip gave him knowledge of an innovative exchange program. Say, if you follow this scheme, you can double your savings in seven days. The chosen fraud mechanism (doubling savings) formed the basis for the name of the scheme.
Starting with gullible neighbors, Syed Shah expanded his activities throughout the state. Within a year and a half, the swindler had received more than $880 million from 3,000 investors and seriously considered running for the post of political leader of the region. However, law enforcement agencies confused his cards, making a quick arrest. It is interesting that even the disclosure of the fraudulent schemes of the swindler did not shake the faith in him on the part of the deceived investors. Thousands of investors, their relatives and friends staged massive street demonstrations, calling for Shah to be released. However, he is still in prison and the investigation into his case is in the active stage.
4. Lou Perlman and his scheme
Lou Perlman's name may not say anything to the vast majority of readers, but everyone has probably heard, if not the music, then at least the names of the groups that he created. We are talking about such popular "boy bands" in the 90s as Backstreet Boys and 'NSync.
However, in the United States, Pearlman became known for his shady dealings, namely his financial scheme, which brought him $ 300 million. And all exclusively after deceiving various investors and banks! Lou Perlman started his criminal activities in 1981, when he founded more than ten different kinds of organizations that were only letters on paper. However, for 20 years, Pearlman successfully sold shares in his "fake" companies!
Everything secret becomes clear, and as a result, Lou Perlman's criminal scheme was revealed. The swindler attempted to leave the United States, but he was caught and given 25 years in prison, along with a $1 million fine. Moreover, initially the punishment was much stricter, but Perlman agreed to cooperate with the court and admitted his crimes. It's no joke, more than 250 individuals lost $200 million and 10 financial institutions suffered losses of $100 million from Lu's fraud.
5. European Royal Club
In 1992, swindlers Hans Spachtholz and Damara Berges announced with aplomb the creation of a non-profit association, the purpose of which was the noble impulse to lend a helping hand to small businesses and create an alternative big banks Europe. The scammers proudly named their offspring the European Royal Club.
According to the financial scheme of Spachtholz and Berges, people wishing to become members of organizations were required to purchase a so-called "letter" for 1400 Swiss francs, which in essence was a share. The owner of the "letter" after its acquisition received guarantees monthly income in the amount of 200 francs, which ultimately allowed the investor to expect to double his contribution after the end of the calendar year.
Only after two years and a combined loss of $1 billion from hundreds of thousands of depositors from Germany and Switzerland, the fraudulent system of Spachtholz and Berges was uncovered. Interestingly, the depositors, even at the time of the reading of the verdict, refused to believe that they had been deceived, and rewarded the judge with a whistle. Berges eventually received seven years in prison, Spachtholz - five.
6. Pyramid by Bernard Madoff
Swindler Bernard Madoff went down in history as the founder of one of the most famous financial frauds in the history of mankind. Several hundred companies and 3,000,000 people suffered from the fruits of the fraudster's activities. Collectively, Madoff's victims lost almost $65 billion.
Bernard Madoff approached the creation of the Madoff Investment Securities fund with thorough preparation. He has built an excellent reputation for his company through building an impressive client list. It included various banks, members of the US elite and hedge funds. The reputable clientele was proof of the fund's reliability and profitability for those investors who had even the slightest doubt about Madoff's honesty. Bernard promised his clients from 12 to 13% per annum on invested funds.
For Bernard Madoff, the fall of 2008 was fatal, when several large investors demanded a sum of $ 7 billion from him. Then it became clear that the fund had absolutely no money - the pyramid collapsed. When federal agents, after a denunciation by Madoff's sons, began to "dig" under the swindler, it became known that the fund had not been engaged in investor funds for more than 13 years. The debt of Madoff's brainchild at the time when the government dealt with it was about $50 billion.
Bernard Madoff was unlucky compared to the previous founders of financial pyramids. For his fraudulent activities, he received a prison term of 150 years.
7. Wang Feng's Ants
The swindler Wang Feng, in his desire to get rich, invented a rather curious and original scheme for making money. This Chinese man in 1999 gave life to the Yilishen Tianxi Group of China. The investment fee for each contributor was $1,500. Having invested money, investors received a box containing a unique breed of ants, and instructions for feeding and growing them. Wang Feng convinced gullible depositors that after 90 days of monitoring insects, his assistants would come to them and pay for the ants. The insects themselves will be processed to create aphrodisiacs and medicines. Naturally, this sounded quite plausible, especially since the swindler became rich very quickly and spent a lot of money on promoting his image, often appearing on newspaper pages and on television. Moreover, the state even gave him an award for being among the top 100 Chinese businessmen.
The organization experienced an unprecedented rise, but when its turnover reached the size of two billion dollars, the pyramid collapsed, and the swindler himself was sentenced to death.
8. mmm
Even now, the name of Sergei Mavrodi causes negative reviews in the Russian expanses. And no wonder, it was this swindler, having taken Zhenya Marina and brother Vyacheslav to help him, created the MMM company (the first letters of the names of the founders), which became the greatest financial pyramid in Russian history. This company expanded its activities widely in the 90s, promising depositors up to 1000% dividends, and as a result deceived millions of Russians. During the five years of his activity, Sergei Mavrodi became rich by at least one and a half billion dollars, was elected to the State Duma and trumped with the immunity of a deputy. However, in 2003, the pyramid collapsed, and Mavrodi was arrested. To this day, he himself is sure that the Russian government is to blame for the collapse of his pyramid.
9. The insurance system in the USA
Interesting fact, but Ponzi scheme, which we described above, has a recognizable resemblance to the American system social insurance. In 1935, the then US President Theodore Roosevelt introduced an insurance system aimed at combating poverty among the unemployed and the elderly. As a result, the latter had the opportunity to receive finance from the working American population.
It is clear that since that time the system has been crammed with a number of changes and adjustments, but this does not negate its essence. As before, the old investors live off the money of the new ones. Nevertheless, clouds are gathering over the United States - independent analysts are sure that already in 2018, the existing insurance scheme may be dead. This is because there may not be enough money for everyone in need in light of the retirement age approach for the baby boomer generation.
In order to understand which company to invest in, you must always understand the principle of the financial pyramid, otherwise you can be left with nothing. People who invest their money in Internet financial pyramids, who live from a month to a year, expose themselves to a very high risk, even if the annual return is 100 or even 300%. If you really want to be serious about investing, then check out our page "".
