Chinese police have uncovered an online pyramid selling scheme--the country's largest--allegedly involving 170,000 people and $180 million, state media said on Friday.
Authorities in Tai'an city, in the eastern Shandong province, uncovered the scheme, named "Swiss Mutual Fund," in May. The operation was found to be illegal after an investigation, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.
The scheme required each investor to pay $1,052 (8,000 yuan) and promised to pay back $52,000 in 30 months, the report said.
Two men have been charged in the case.
Publicity about the scheme in Tai'an is a coda to an official campaign against
The campaign identified 600 schemes involving $224 million nationwide, with more than 3,300 organizers and core members arrested in 14 provinces and cities, Xinhua said.
Pyramid selling was banned in China in 1998 after a series of scandals, including one in 1995 in which two women were executed for masterminding a scheme.
Source : http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6205524.html
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