Iran busts more pyramid scammers
Sun Aug 1, 2010 1:59AM
The Iranian Intelligence Ministry says 10 major members of a company called Viprol, which was involved in pyramid schemes, have been arrested.
Intelligence agents arrested the suspects in Tehran, Kerman, Bushehr, and some other provinces after several plaintiffs filed complaints against the company, an Intelligence Ministry official in charge of combating pyramid scam companies announced on Saturday, the Tehran Times reported.
The company had been active in cyberspace under the guise of e-trade and investment in international stock markets, oil and gold markets, advanced industries, and arms sales.
“They robbed people and then closed down their website. As a result of follow-ups by the ministry's agents, the main members of the network were identified and arrested,” the official added.
The official also said some companies, which claim they have obtained official certification permits to run marketing activities via the Internet, have not been granted permits.
In January, the Intelligence Ministry announced that 15 companies involved in pyramid schemes had been identified and forced to discontinue operations in Iran.
Palinure, Inviting, Golden Village, FSG, Griffin and Gold Quest were some of the companies that were shut down in Iran.
The source recalled that after the closure of over 410 offices of the pyramid company Gold Quest in Tehran, a large number of the leaders of the company said they were ready to halt their activities and somehow satisfy the people who had lost their money by investing in the fake company.
Gold Quest is a global network marketing company that claims to be engaged in selling coins and watches that are said to have numismatic value.
Network marketing companies work on the principle of the pyramid scheme, a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme.
Network marketing differs from pyramid selling (pyramid schemes) in that the latter is a financial fraud and those who deal in this kind of business can be prosecuted based on a relevant law ratified in 2006, which imposes a ban on the activities of pyramid selling companies in Iran.
According to the law, everyone who cooperates with these companies is disrupting the economic system of Iran and is legally responsible.
Gold Quest, believed to be involved in one of the largest economic corruption cases in Iran's history, was banned in by Iran in 2005. Prosecutors found the pyramid company's activities have led to the exit of half a billion dollars from Iran.
Pyramid schemes have been banned in many other countries, including the United States, Great Britain, France, Canada, Malaysia, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
AS/HGL
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